Lion King III: We'll be Remembered, Preliators
by Kurt Wylde 42
Summary: Danny is locked with Dasyu in an all-or-nothing war, leaving Simba to handle the duties of a king by himself. With the war threatening their homes, will Danny's Preliators win? Or will they perish along with the rest of the Pride Lands? Final AU TLK Book! UPDATE: Danny briefs the Preliators on the upcoming mission. Simba experiences a haunting vision.
1. H & R

**Hello everyone! First, I'm gonna say this. If you haven't read my first and second books, STOP right here! Close out, and take a look at them. Otherwise, this won't make much sense.**

**Secondly, I'M BAAACKK! After not posting anything for almost eight months, I'm pleased to say that I'm back from the dead, ready to post my third TLK story of my trilogy. I am going to do things a little differently, and not all of you will be happy with this. First, I will be keeping the chapters short, around 5,000 words. Second, and this is the bad part, I will only be posting once a month. It may be two or three chapters, it may only be one. But my time is taken up severely, and I don't have the faithful time I had the past two years.**

**Another thing to note. This story is going to be a lot more sci-fi than the previous two books, but I still plan to stick as close as possible to TLK. Just giving you a heads-up right now. Anyways, I look forward to hearing from everyone and your reviews. Enjoy my third installment!**

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><p>Captain Jacoby sat in the front passenger's seat of the rover. Convoy escort duty was more of a punishment detail than a serviceable duty. Most of the other officers would agree with him, but the brass' only explanation was that someone had to do it. That, and the fact that nine of twenty supply convoys that went out in the last year had not returned. Communication was generally lost, followed by complete lost contact. Usually when a rescue party went out, none returned.<p>

Jacoby placed a hand on his forehead. _And out of all the officers to pick for a convoy commander, it had to be me._

"Are you alright, sir?" The driver asked.

Jacoby looked up at him. "I'm fine. Just needed to close my eyes for a few seconds and collect my thoughts."

After all the attacks on the supply convoys, one would think of either sending out more armed escorts or stopping the convoys altogether. But with the loss of Facilities One and Two, there was no choice but to go out in search of natural resources. The one good piece of good news was the dead human's ship had its artificial intelligence copied and installed in every drone constructed so far. Now, they possessed an inexpensive army that carried immense firepower. Unfortunately, it did little good for most supply convoys, including Jacoby's.

What was worse was that the destruction of Facility One exactly a year before had crippled the Specters' ability to spread across the world. To add insult to the injury, it was caused by the human _after _he had been killed. _Talk about a death from the grave._ To complicate things even further, a small group of Specter rebels had escaped from Facility One with the human's ship and began recruiting many others to fight against Dasyu in rebellion. It was another headache they didn't have time for, but had to deal with it, nonetheless.

_Why would our own people want to rebel against us, especially now that no one stands in our way?_ The captain didn't know how to answer that question, only to ponder it and think of reasonable possibilities.

Jacoby noticed a set of pillars, recognizing it as their third checkpoint. "Turn left, and keep going until we see the split waterfall. I want to be back home in time for some R&R."

"I hear you, sir," was the driver's only response.

The rover turned left, with the convoy of rovers and transports following suit. Jacoby was glad that they were getting close to Facility Three. They had extracted a great amount of carbon- and iron-rich resources, and it would help their efforts in stopping this new band of rebels. Of course, even he had doubts they could even complete their mission, not without eliminating the rebels first. Could they succeed? Absolutely. Would it be anytime soon? No. It would be a long time before the securing of this planet would be accomplished. But if they didn't take care of their enemy, then it wouldn't matter how much they tried to transform this world into their own vision.

Jacoby shook his head. _The sooner they're all dead, the sooner my job gets a little less stressful._

The driver began to slow down, forcing the convoy to do likewise. The sudden deceleration caused Jacoby to snap out of his thoughts. "Driver, why are we slowing down?"

Pointing forward, the driver said, "There's something out there. It looks like a body, and it looks like one of ours, sir."

Jacoby peered out. The dust was making it slightly difficult to see in front of him, but he did see a dark lump in the form of a body sprawled out in their way. It looked like one of their own, but it seemed odd that there were no signs of vehicle wreckage to make Jacoby believe that it was from one of the earlier convoys. He narrowed his eyes. Bringing his radio to his mouth, he began barking orders. "All units, we have a body of what looks to be one of ours. I want 360 degree protection from all armed escorts." He turned to his driver. "Stop the vehicle."

Behind him, gunners from all of the rovers began communicating on who covered which side. Jacoby stepped out of his vehicle and drew his pistol from his holster. Jacoby trained it on the body. He wasn't going to take any chances with this. He slowly made his way forward. Instinct caused him to look around. He couldn't see anything for miles, but something was screaming in the back of his mind. Jacoby's driver had gotten out of his seat and kept his rifle at the low ready.

Jacoby knelt down and examined the body. It was mostly black with gold armor, and a black helmet on its head. The head of a lion was on the soldier's chest. Jacoby didn't know if this was part of Dasyu's upgrades from Operation Zero Hero, but he definitely didn't recognize this one. Some of the Specters, mostly the leaders, had been outfitted with secondary forms of the predators they had captured. It was how Dasyu had received his form of a lion; how he had a human form, Jacoby didn't know.

The convoy commander got up. The soldier didn't look like he was going to get up again, and Jacoby didn't have time to bring the soldier back for a closer examination. Even though it was just one body, something was not sitting right with him.

"Does anyone have eyes on anything suspicious?" Jacoby asked over the radio.

There was a long silence before anyone answered. "Uh…that's a negative, sir. I see nothing but open field and the pillars we passed."

Jacoby looked over at the pillars, trying to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary. The driver did the same. However, no one saw the black-and-gold soldier slowly reach for the grenade under his back. He slowly pulled the pin and threw it as hard as he could underneath the lead rover.

The explosion sent a slight tremor through the ground, but the explosion of the rover's fuel tank magnified that quake. That was the signal for attack. A screaming engine came soaring overhead. A Blade swooped in low, coming in for a strafing run. Some of the gunners swerved to train their sights on the fighter, but weren't fast enough. The Blade launched two rockets on the cargo transports.

Jacoby watched as the two missiles homed in on their targets, and punched through the heavy vehicles. Both transports were sent up in the air. He shouted through his radio. "Someone shred that rogue Blade!"

The convoy gunners opened fire on the Blade as it pulled away. The distraction allowed the soldiers hiding in the field to slowly rise up and launch their rockets at the convoy. All of them sped in on their targets with little time to react.

With the distraction of the Blade's missile run was the time for the dark soldier on the ground to reach for his pistol. He aimed at the driver and fired three shots into his chest. The driver crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. He got up just as Jacoby turned to the sound of the shooting. Jacoby tried to bring his own pistol up, but the dark soldier knocked it out of his hand. Jacoby made the same move and succeeded in knocking his enemy's sidearm out of his hand.

He moved for a punch to the abdomen of the soldier. The blow connected, and the soldier bent over. Jacoby went for a standing guillotine, but the soldier charged him and rammed his shoulder into Jacoby's stomach. Jacoby felt air leave him as the soldier speared him into the ground. The captain brought his fists down on the soldier's back and brought his knee up, delivering another blow to the soldier's midsection. Jacoby flipped the soldier over him.

He got up and looked around. The convoy was being blown apart right before his eyes. Another setback for them, and he needed to get out of there. The gunners did their best to shoot back, but they were only inflicting a few casualties. _This is definitely not my day._ He looked down at the downed soldier and glared. This soldier was the cause of this, and he was going to end it. Jacoby began walking back to his pistol.

It was only a few steps when he suddenly was propelled to the ground. The soldier had gotten up faster than he had thought and tackled him. Jacoby shook him off and returned to a fighter's stance. The soldier sent two punches at him, knocking Jacoby's head back. Jacoby responded with an elbow to the face followed by a hard backhand.

The dark soldier slowly turned and smirked. "You're gonna have to hit harder than that."

"I'm just getting warmed up." Jacoby surprised him with a couple quick kicks, followed by a swinging, roundhouse kick. The blow knocked the soldier off of his feet and sent him face first into the ground. Jacoby sighed and reached over for his pistol. _This ends now._ "Any last words?"

"Yeah," the soldier said. "Get stuffed." He rolled to his side. Jacoby fired, but missed. The rebel reached down and grabbed his pistol and aimed at Jacoby. He fired, emptying the magazine.

The soldier was firing an M9 pistol. It fired 9mm rounds, not a very impressive form of ammunition. Needless to say, he was surprised when Jacoby's head exploded. Sparks of angry electricity ripped out of the neck as the body fell to the side. The soldier got up and looked at the pillars; a shiny glint gave away the position of the distant sniper.

He smiled. "Mheetu, I say we call that one a tie."

A voice came over his communicator. "A tie? Since when does a pistol blow off a person's head? You know that kill was mine."

"I still fired at his face. That's why I'm calling it a tie."

"Whatever," Mheetu said, exasperatedly. "Tojo and I will be working our way down. See you in a little bit."

"Copy that. Out." The soldier looked out at the convoy. It was another successful mission for them. They knew they couldn't attack Dasyu head on, but they could whittle him down by destroying his supply chain. The Specters traveled with light armed escorts, and every single convoy they found was traced well in advance, allowing them time to plan out their ambush. Now came the next part of the ambush: escape as fast as possible.

He turned around to see two soldiers approach him. One was Bren, the soldier who defected to him a year ago. Keeping an AK-47 at the low ready, Bren was a great soldier, and a loyal friend. The other was of orange and black body armor, making him easily identified as Malka, king of the Mountain Pride. He also sported an AK-47, but he had his rifle slung on his back.

"Preliator, we've secured the area. All enemy personnel have been destroyed, all supplies have been either destroyed or taken. Your orders, sir?" Malka asked, flanking him.

That was the name they were instructed to call him in the field, along with General. When they were back home, they could call him by his real name, Daniel Manning. Danny smiled. "Evacuate back to respective checkpoints and proceed back to Facility Alpha. After-action review when we return. Let's move."

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><p>The Preliators returned to Facility Alpha. In the last year, Bren had recruited eighty total personnel in the fight against Dasyu. Danny held his suspicions about them, at first, but they sounded just as sick of Dasyu as he was. Over the past twelve months, they had more than proved their worth as soldiers, technicians, and pilots. They had a few mechanics, but only a few. They were kept away from the battlefield most of the time to preserve their skill set.<p>

Of course, with nearly ninety people including the Preliators, there had to be a base of operations to set up. Some originally suggested setting up in the Pride Lands, but Danny feared it being tracked by Dasyu's forces. If that happened, there would be a lot of innocent lives at stake, an unnecessarily huge risk. Granted, Dasyu had sent forces there before, but that was when he knew Danny was alive. Believing he was dead, Dasyu had no reason to return there, and Danny didn't want to give him one. Instead, Danny settled on the second likely place Dasyu would ignore: Facility One.

The base Danny destroyed when he first came to this dimension of Earth, Danny and Bren first used the personnel recruited to rebuild the base. Some of the core equipment was salvaged and restored to full functionality, and the stolen equipment in the last year had helped rebuild the entire facility. The motor pool was cleared, and now held twenty Blades, four Titan tanks, a dozen Rovers, a few transports, and the _**Paratus Preliator**_.

All of the personnel called the place Facility Alpha. No one wanted the original title because of security reasons, so the name stuck. The technicians had done their best at shielding any signals from the Specters that remained sided with Dasyu, but even they couldn't guarantee a secure position. However, they could guarantee secure signal channels, and that made Danny relax a little.

Danny stayed in his robot form. He still didn't completely trust everybody, and only Bren and the Preliators knew he was Danny. Because of that, he still was called by his alias.

The transport carrying the Preliators began its docking maneuvers into the hangar. Its blocky shape gave no aerodynamic advantage, but it more than made up for it with straight-line speed and sported a forward and rear cannon for armaments. The whole purpose of the transport was to do just that: transport troops around. The walls on the starboard and port sides of the ship could open up to allow for a quick drop or airborne assault. They weren't much, but they got the job done for Danny and his team. One his transport, one of three, they decided to fly with the walls down, giving them a great view of the lands. Now, they held onto the straps with their hands as the ship began to hover across the floor and set down on the ground.

Danny got out and surveyed the hangar as the steel doors closed behind him. The first time he was here, he was trying to get out as fast as possible to avoid going up with the facility. Now, it was a base of operations. Either way, he remembered one constant: it was huge. Most of the docking brackets were restored, allowing the Blades to be docked above them and create space on the ground. Rovers and tanks were placed in the two motor pools, giving them an area for mechanics to do their jobs with the ground vehicles. The transports were the only vehicles that could stay on the floor the whole time, because there may be a time for an emergency on the ground.

The personnel were hard at work. The mechanics had already begun repairs on the rovers, which had just returned from the long haul back to base. Guards were keeping an eye on the outside, making sure that no enemy was in the area. Danny knew he had a few sniper teams positioned in well-hidden locations within a mile radius in case of anything out of the ordinary. _It's a boring job, but it has to be done._

He, Bren, and the other Preliators headed towards the briefing room. The other soldiers in the ambush force fell in step behind them. Danny looked at his long time friends. Malka, Haraka, and Tupac seemed calm and unworried. Chumvi seemed to be doing a good job at keeping his face neutral; whatever he was feeling, Danny couldn't read it in his face.

That left Tojo and Mheetu, who were entirely different stories. They had already vocalized their thoughts to Danny initially about Bren, and they still weren't completely trustworthy of him. They didn't trust the recruited soldiers Bren brought in, either. Danny knew this was a little problem with the potential of getting worse if left unchecked. He was going to need this squared away ASAP. For now, they had their debriefing.

After walking down the main corridor, they came to their room. It was a big amphitheater, basically. Rows of steel-gray benches wrapped around the entire room, where the soldiers sat down. The walls were plain white, and the only illumination came from the projector and the central light in the middle of the room. The Preliators sat in their own section apart from the rogue Specters, obviously still wary of the others. Danny, Malka, and Bren remained standing as Danny began the after-action review.

"Alright, men. This mission was successful. The targeted enemy convoy has been taken care of. Supplies were taken and forces evacuated swiftly. What was the elapsed time from incursion to extraction?"

One soldier raised a hand. "Twenty minutes, General."

"Twenty-three minutes, actually," Danny responded. "Our ambush was good, but we need to shrink down the time to the range of fifteen to eighteen minutes. I know we have the ability to do this, so the next time, I expect a slightly better performance. I know of a few sustains and improves, but I want to hear from all of you." He gestured at all of them.

"Communication was excellent," that was Chumvi. "It helped us coordinate the attack precisely. We need to keep that sustainment going the way we have it."

"Correct. Everyone communicated almost perfectly on the attack. Everyone knew when their cue was in ambushing the convoy and executed the attack methodically. Let's keep it that way. What else?" Danny asked. "How about an improvement other than what I just mentioned?"

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><p>Everyone left the briefing. So far, it was the best after-action review to date. Danny only had timing and conservation of ammunition as the only areas that needed improvement. Ammunition was a valuable commodity, since they only had so much to spare and only so little taken from the attacks. The reason he wanted the timing down was to avoid an attack from a Specter rapid response team or be traced somehow. The last few times they attacked convoys, Danny would send squads to inspect for audio and video devices that could compromise them. They had found a few, but not many.<p>

He walked to the Operations room. The other Preliators, Bren included, had followed in step behind him. They needed to discuss further plans on what to do next. After the after-action review, they would meet in the Shadow Room, a small briefing room that was locked down and not under surveillance.

A select few Specters that had defected remained behind in Dasyu's facility as moles. The leader of the group was the one Danny had encountered in Facility One, Gyro. He, along with the other moles, had been able to provide the location of the facility, giving the Preliators a huge advantage. The problem was, there was no easy way into the facility. All conveyor belts were watched and guarded, and flying in was suicide.

Another problem was that they didn't have enough arms and vehicles to directly assault the place. True, they had Titan tanks and Blades, but their weapons were just enough to supply themselves for small hit-and-run attacks. Plans were being formulated for taking down the facility, but they were coming slowly.

However, the destruction of the enemy supply convoys was making things difficult for Dasyu to build his army and air forces. It was small strikes that dealt severe blows. It was forcing the Specter leader to readjust his logistical operations to rebuilding his supply transports, and Danny hoped to keep it that way.

They all entered the Shadow Room en masse to their seats. Tojo and Mheetu remained guarding the doors to make sure that security was maintained. Danny went to the front of the room and turned the computer off its standby mode, and activated the portable webcam attached to the ceiling. It was angled down to show all of the Preliators, with a projector screen rolling down. Danny programmed the uplink to UHF secure, and turned on the webcam. On it was a screen showing Gyro, who looked rather nervous and impatient. _Better make this quick. _He moved away from the computer and stood where he usually did: right in front of the lens.

The projector finished warming up and Gyro's face appeared on the screen. "Can you hear me, Preliator?"

Danny nodded. "Yes. Can you hear us?"

"Loud and clear, sir. I don't want to be on for too long. I have guards to warn me of unwanted guests, so don't be surprised if I suddenly cut this channel off."

"This is the…" Danny looked at the screen. "…forty-second meeting between us. I don't think I'll feel too surprised if that does happen." Danny looked behind him and back to Gyro. "All Preliators are present. The mission was successful over here. How's Dasyu taking it?"

Gyro let a smile escape. "He's getting frustrated. I've managed to review his logistics tasks. He's having no choice but to shift to constructing all materials to supply vehicles and fewer armaments."

"That's great news," Malka said from behind Danny.

"He's sending out scout parties to locate you, but he's not sure where you are. The only thing keeping him from backing down is that the fuel cells are rechargeable."

"Yeah, that's why I've really liked the speeders he's provided me with," Danny said with a smile. If his speeders or the _**Preliator **_needed anything other than the recharging fuel cells, he wouldn't have been able to go anywhere a long time ago. "Have any of them come close to us?"

Gyro looked off-screen for a moment. Either he was getting nervous or he was looking over some information relative to Danny's question. "Two teams came somewhat close to you, but they were fifteen miles away. Personally, I don't believe Dasyu even suspects that you are using his old facility. He hasn't returned there since you had destroyed it years ago. So far, your position is unknown to Dasyu and the remaining Generals."

"That's good, but is there anything I should be concerned about?"

"Just that you have to be aware that Dasyu might send out more escorts to protect his supplies. You also need to keep attacking at random places. If you attack in one general direction, then Dasyu will just avoid that area and devote more defenses to that than convoys. As for infiltration, I'll defer to Bren." Gyro motioned with his hand to the security specialist.

Bren stood and walked forward. He typed up a few commands on the keyboard, and a three-dimensional image of the last remaining facility, Facility Three, replaced Gyro's image. A few conveyor belts were highlighted, as well as a hangar at the end of a wedged canyon. "These are the main entry points where we can infiltrate the facility."

The hangar was the first section to be examined, as evidenced by the view closing on the canyon. "The front door is pure suicide. Unless you're immortal, I suggest we avoid that one," Bren said with a humorous tone. He saw Danny smirk as he continued. "But we can use it as a diversion. An air strike by a flight of Blades can stir up the hornets nest and cause all of them to scramble. Dasyu is sure to believe that his facility's location is still unknown to us, so he'll send what he can after our Blades in order to preserve Facility Three's location."

Danny snorted. "Of course, that would be a good idea if we didn't already know of the location. But what about ground infiltration, Bren?"

"We can set up a sniper team to focus on any one conveyor belt entrance and take out the team guarding it. I can lead an infiltration team and shut down the security systems. We can go to one of the reactor rooms, and place demolition charges to blow the facility. I've been there before, and the only difficulty is getting inside. After that, we shouldn't have much of a problem."

"Once that's done, Dasyu would be finished," Gyro said. "He doesn't have enough supplies to continue his mission. Of course, my team will evacuate with you when this happens."

"I don't like this, Danny."

It was no surprise to Danny that Tojo objected to this. He turned to face his friend. Both Tojo and Mheetu didn't agree with Bren, mainly out of general distrust. "Why do you not like this?"

Tojo stood. "First of all, we don't know if this is a trap. Dasyu could be rolling on whether we make a strike or not, and then make his move. Say he foils the attack and finds our location. Even though most of his original forces are gone, he still has a substantial force that he could commit to attacking this facility. We would be crippled in our fight against him."

"My people are planning a contingency and some experimental weapons should Dasyu attempt that," Bren replied calmly.

"I'm sure you do," Tojo added sarcastically.

"You got a better plan? Because I'd love to hear it," Bren responded. The heat in his voice was rising.

"Maybe you'd love to hear the sound of your jaw breaking if you-"

"Shut up! Both of you," Malka shouted, standing in between them. "We've got enough troubles with Dasyu and his Specters without fighting amongst each other."

"Look, I didn't ask you to be the best of friends, but I am _telling _you to cooperate and work together." Danny was keeping his tone very authoritative. "Once this war is over, you can do as you please. I, personally, would rather see you either get along or go separate ways once Dasyu has been dealt with."

Bren and Tojo stared each other down, but looked at Danny and nodded. Haraka spoke, though. "With that covered, I think attacking Facility Three would be a good idea. If we can catch them reeling, then we will have the element of surprise on our side. This war could end quickly with little to zero casualties."

Malka made sure nothing was going to happen between the two he was playing referee with, before turning to Danny. "While I don't agree with Tojo's feelings towards our ally, I do agree with him about not attacking the facility just yet. We're doing a good job attacking these convoys, grabbing what we can, and leaving. Time is on our side, Danny."

"But ammunition is not," Danny replied. This was a hard decision. It was really tempting to take Bren up on this plan and end Dasyu and the war once and for all. On the other hand, their hit-and-run missions were showing great results. If they kept it up, the Specters would slowly die out. Danny smiled to himself. _Who would've thought I'd be leading this sort of crap?_

He looked at Bren. "This plan looks good and I do believe we can infiltrate Facility Three. However, I'm going to stick to whittling away at the convoys that Dasyu sends out to gather raw materials to refine. Once we're certain Dasyu is unable to inadequately defend and sustain his forces in battle, we'll go forward with your strategy. Sound like a plan?"

Bren shrugged, though his expression showed some disappointment. "As good a plan as any right now."

"What do you want me to do?" The voice over the speakers asked.

"Gyro, you are going to keep gathering what information you can on what goes on. Make sure you cover your tracks and hope that Dasyu doesn't find out what you're doing anytime soon. Also, I'm going to send you a message to bring to Dasyu's attention. Erase the location and leave it as unknown."

"What message do you want to send to him?"

"A warning, and possibly a peaceful solution to all of this."

"What do you mean?" Chumvi asked.

Danny closed his eyes. _They're not going to like this plan, but I'm going to need them._ He turned to face them. "You won't like it, but here's the plan." And he told them.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked the intro. I'm only going to say the disclaimer thing once. I don't own the Lion King or any of its characters. My own characters, such as Danny, Zainabu, Bren, Dasyu, among others, you need to get permission from me to use them. Thank you all!<strong>


	2. Planning for the Future

**Enjoy the second chapter here!**

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><p>Dasyu groaned. This was anything but a good time for him. He had called for another staff session with his Generals. This was one of the most important ones to date. It was on the threat of the rebels who had been assaulting him for some time. His patience was just about<p>

played out with the results of the convoys sent to gather raw materials.

The last year had been a living nightmare for him. For about two hours, he had endured great bliss after killing his longtime foe, Daniel Manning. Then reports came in about a rebel attack on the hangar holding Manning's ship, only to be followed with a huge explosion that destroyed his bread-and-butter stronghold. It was thought to be impregnable in the past. _Not anymore,_ Dasyu thought.

He wasn't sure who the rebels were, but they were becoming a persistent thorn in his side. If they were former Specters, then Dasyu couldn't understand for the life of him why they would rebel _after _the enemy was killed. Either way, they had attacked his convoys. They took all weapons, disabled all tracking and surveillance devices, and left no survivors. The salvage teams were unable to trace any of the attackers back to a solid location, mainly because the attacks came at random places.

"If only there was a pattern to follow, things would be much easier," Dasyu said out loud to no one in particular.

Things did seem easier when he first arrived here. He, General Striker, and the other Generals landed their ship and woke the crew from stasis. They used the numerous supplies to create their three facilities in separate locations, using the vast amount of vehicles and aircraft his kind had created. However, they ran out of resources in the process, and forced Dasyu to disassemble his ship to continue the construction.

He knew that he would need more in order to succeed. Of course, there was no life form other than animals. There was a report of an intellect species called humans, but Dasyu had never come across any. He needed an answer to find both the humans and a solution for weapons. Those answers came quickly, when one of his scout ships discovered an anomaly along a river running near Facility One's location. Dasyu and Striker investigated it, and ended up smack dab in the middle of a Black Market center as well as the first human contact. Taking on the form of two soldiers, they found out the currency and produced a lot of counterfeit currency in order to buy half the center's weapons, which came from numerous nations and supplied them with weapons for every Specter Dasyu had and then some. Uniforms were also purchased for security personnel and a select percentage of people who were able to come along and take on human forms.

Dasyu grimaced, as he remembered that most of those personnel were at Facility Two. They were lost when that facility was destroyed, leaving only Striker and himself with human forms. Striker was lost along with Facility One, leaving only Dasyu.

It was eating at him that his facilities were lost due to a human, and things were only compounded when that human was related to the four who first discovered his operation. He had dealt with them, and Danny came back with added incentive. Now, they were all dead, but Danny didn't leave without taking two facilities with him. Dasyu had never lost so much to a small enemy; it was downright humiliating. He could still accomplish his goal with just one stronghold, but if he kept losing supplies, he would have a problem.

Dasyu came to an elevator car. He typed in his pass code, opening the black-and-yellow striped doors. He stepped in. Setting for the lowest level, Dasyu watched the doors close and the car descend to the depths below. Only a select few were allowed down to this level, and only the Generals were allowed inside the room unless they had someone they needed to explain something.

He reached the lowest level and the car doors opened. All that was in front of Dasyu was a short, twenty foot walk to a set of steel doors and two guards posted. As he came to them, they stood at attention and saluted. "At ease," Dasyu said. One of the guards handed him a computer pad and he entered the code to pass.

The guards stepped to the side and opened the doors for him. Dasyu walked through into the room. It was nothing but a boxy board room, with a black table and up to ten chairs there. He saw that the three Generals were waiting for him: Talon, the eagle and newly appointed General of the Air; Malachi, the falcon and General of the Ground; and General Xev. The leopardess transformer, after the death of Striker, was appointed as Dasyu's second-in-command. Dasyu was certain he could count on her, but the loss of Striker hurt. Boronas was also missing, and was now listed as dead, dealing a double-dose of loss.

He sat down at the head chair. The Generals, waiting for him to enter, did the same. Everyone placed their hand on a palm reader built into the table. One by one, they glowed white, indicated the recorder was activated. Dasyu spoke. "Specter council is now in session. Let's begin with the report with our last supply convoy."

Malachi stood up. He looked a little nervous, and rightfully so. "Sir, our last convoy, designation Iota Four, was last reported in Sector 12, Grid Juno. After lost contact for an hour, a recon flight of Blades searched that last known area. All they found were scrapped vehicles, with no survivors, no weapons or materials, and all equipment was stripped out of the vehicles that were not slagged."

Dasyu resisted the urge to drop his face onto the table, but did not hold his head up either. He slammed his fist down. The other Generals tensed, but did not jump. They knew this was coming. "This makes ten convoys wiped out in the last year, including three straight. Have there been any patterns we can follow from the ambush parties?"

"No, sir," Xev responded. "The attacks are completely randomized. Our enemy is cunning and knows how to evade us efficiently. It has been difficult to predict the-"

"I don't care about difficulties!" Dasyu shouted, causing Xev to show her nervousness in her expression. "I definitely will not accept failure or excuses. This is why I have us here today. I want a report of the rebel leader and how to best defend our convoys. If we don't do something soon, we're going to be in a tight bind. We can still achieve our goal of gathering all of this world's resources and expanding our production, but if we keep having to rebuild for supply transports, we will whittle away until we have nothing left."

The Generals nodded. Dasyu was not in the best mood, and they all understood his position. They couldn't keep rebuilding supply convoys to gather raw materials. Thankfully, they did have some good news, though. That would wait until after the bad news.

General Talon stood. "I have the report on the rebel leader, sir." He picked up the remote on the table and the screen lit up. A picture of a black and gold warrior appeared in the upper right portion of the screen, with the rest of the image taken up with what information they had. "This is the leader of the rebel faction, known as the Preliators. From the few transmissions we've intercepted, this person is known as General Preliator, or simply Preliator. We don't know if that's his true name, but it's all we have. He has been coordinating attacks, taking supplies, and causing dissention among our ranks. He's somehow convinced others to join him against us. Reportedly, over sixty personnel have defected to him."

"Do we have a record on anyone named Preliator?"

"No, sir." Talon responded.

"How did he get that black-and-gold armor?"

"We can't say."

A low growl resonated in Dasyu's throat. These answers were not what Dasyu wanted to hear, but he had little choice in the matter. "How does he conduct fights against us in terms of character?" Dasyu asked.

"The information we have suggests he organizes his attacks. The precision of the assaults as well as the timeliness are synchronized together. He attacks the supply transports first, destroying our materials gathered. Sniper fire takes care of our gunners, which leaves other teams to move in and finish us off, and as stated before, no survivors are left." Talon looked back at Dasyu. "It seems he prefers to keep things sealed under a tight jar to avoid discovery."

Dasyu looked around. "Any opinions?"

"Sounds to me like this Preliator might be smaller and in a tighter bind than we are," Malachi said, his eyes focused on the image. "It seems as though everything he has is extremely precious and takes every precaution to avoid leaks in his defenses."

"That could be true," Xev replied. "A more likely indication is that his success is going so smooth that he wants to keep this up, and by having any leaks, we would have an advantage over him that we could exploit. There's also a problem with this report, but it could also reveal a weakness in Preliator's plans."

"What would that problem be, General?" Dasyu asked.

"General Talon reports that these attacks are precise and timed well. No one, not even us Generals, can know when and where these rogue strike teams are attacking us without prior information."

"That could just be from the ones who defected to Preliator. They might've received information on the convoy routes and itineraries from them once they came over." That was Talon who spoke, arguing another case in point.

"If this was only recently after the defections, I would agree with you, General," Xev replied. "But I think that not everyone who defected has left this facility."

"Are saying there is a mole here?" Dasyu asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, sir. There could be more than one of them." There was no look of doubt in Xev's face. She knew what she was talking about.

All of them stopped and thought this over. It definitely made sense, and that would be a great problem. They all knew that if a mole, or possibly moles, were in the facility transmitting information, then that posed a serious problem. The possibility of breached security protocols and stolen access codes could end up undermining their entire operation. This was now an immediate priority. If a mole was indeed inside the stronghold, the four of them would need to eliminate the problem.

Dasyu rested his joints on the table. "Alright. We need to pay careful attention to everyone. I also want records of anyone accessing our information. This does not leave the room, and you three will get what I need yourselves. I don't want anyone getting a heads-up from the Generals requesting all signed and unsigned usage of equipment. If anything comes up, narrow them down and see if we can't find the mole, or moles if there _are _more than one of them."

"Great," Malachi said exasperatedly. "I just love doing mountains of computer file exam-"

He was cut off by Dasyu's angered tone. "I don't remember asking you for your comments, Malachi! You have your orders. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, sir," was the dull reply.

"That's better," Dasyu said, his tone more calmer than before. "Do we have any good news, for a change?"

Xev sighed. _Finally, a relief. _She opened her files and began. "For starters, all our drones are being massed produced. Tanks, Rovers, Jet drones; all of them are being made at this rate. The only issue is limited resources. We have enough for another month's worth of drones before we have to stop, so no immediate worries right now."

"How many units do we have?"

"Two dozen tank drones, three dozen rover drones, and thirty jet drones."

"Okay, how about Operations Zero Hero and Optional?"

"Operation Zero Hero is on schedule. The scientists are working on the replication process, but soon everyone is going to receive an alternate form like the four of us. It shouldn't be much longer before they are ready to test it on our first few Specters." Xev searched for the other files. "As for Optional, it's waiting on Zero Hero. Once the replication process is complete, we just need a visual scan of any of the rebel Preliator's lieutenants. Hopefully, we'll catch one of them if not more."

"Excellent," Dasyu said, clearly more pleased than he was five minutes before. "We need these projects in order to infiltrate the enemy's ranks and rip them apart from the inside out. Once they're out of the way, there will be no opposition."

"Of course, this Preliator is proving himself to be very resilient," Talon said. "The only question is, why is he fighting against us?"

"A good question, General Talon." Dasyu turned back to look at the screen showing the image of Preliator. "So now, what are we going to do about him? More to the point, what ideas do you Generals have in defending the convoys we send out? We're going to need more resources to refine for drone construction."

Malachi answered almost immediately. "Well, what about heavily armored escorts? We can use the tank drones or the jet drones to fly escort for the convoys. We don't have many Blades to spare, and it might discourage them from attacking if they are short on supplies."

"Yeah…" Talon retorted in rare sarcasm. "…because that's discouraged them in the past with our current armed escorts." He faced the Specter leader. "Lord Dasyu, my idea is a little more crazy, but it will definitely keep the enemy from attacking our forces up close."

"Let's hear it."

"We send out our normal convoys, but each one will have a vehicle with a megaton, high-yield bomb."

"And you think my plan is ludicrous!" Malachi exclaimed. To him, that was pure suicide. Nobody wanted to destroy more materials and more equipment in battling the Preliators.

Dasyu waved his hands. "Generals, please. We don't have time for this, but Talon, you better explain your plan a little."

Talon nodded, sparing a glance at Malachi. "The enemy has reported to have stolen our equipment and weapons in every ambush of the ten convoys. If they get close enough, a single bomb would devastate their forces. They would be less likely to attack again, at least up close. But distance shooting would give us a better chance at our convoys returning to base intact."

"Hmm." Dasyu cupped his chin with his hand. "Xev, do you have an idea?"

"Yes, I do. It's based on the philosophy of 'the best defense is a good offense.'"

Before anything could be said, a loud knocking was heard on the door. Talon turned around and placed a hand on his pistol. Dasyu keyed the intercom. "Who is out there?"

"Gyro, signal officer, communications division. I have an urgent transmission for you, sir."

Dasyu growled. "Whatever it is can wait until this meeting is over."

"Sir, the transmission is from the rebel leader. He says his name is General Preliator."

"What!" Xev was stunned. This was the last thing any of them expected to hear.

"I guess I will be taking this call. Guards, let officer Gyro in."

The doors opened and Gyro walked in. He could tell that the mood of the Specter brass was edgy, so he didn't waste any time. He stood at the extra computer, which was formerly used for General Striker. "The transmission is on a secure channel line, so none of his people can home in on this. However, we've been unable to trace this channel to Preliator's location." His fingers typed rapidly away at the keyboard.

"That's fine, but I want to see Preliator's face and speak to him personally."

About a second later, the screen went blue for a moment. Then, the blue disappeared and was replaced by a figure with a black and gold face and bright yellow eyes. The figure cocked his head for a second before speaking. "Well, it's finally an honor to meet the legendary Dasyu. You're reputation precedes you…at least what's left of it." His last phrase had a hint of humor behind his voice, and a slight smirk to match on his face.

"Spare me your humor, Preliator. We both know who the other is. What do you want?"

"I'll be straight with you. There are some things of urgency we need to discuss."

Dasyu shrugged. "So? Discuss."

Preliator chuckled. "Not like this. I want to meet with you; you and me, one-on-one, with no weapons and no one else."

Smirking, Dasyu asked, "What makes you think I'd agree to that?"

"Of course, if you don't, I'll just keep going on my merry way. Your convoys certainly have been great target practice. This could be your chance to stop it. If you agree, I'll grant you a 'good faith' favor."

"This is outrageous!" General Xev interjected. "Lord Dasyu is not foolish enough to risk assassination by going alone." She turned to Dasyu. "I'll go and see what this rebel wants."

Preliator let out a laugh. "Nice, Dasyu. It's good to see who's wearing the pants this relationship that I'm seeing here."

That struck a nerve in Dasyu's pride. He wasn't going to be insulted like that in front of his Generals. "No!" Everyone remained quiet as Dasyu came close to the screen. He studied Preliator hard, thinking this deal over. The rebel General wouldn't be calling just to gloat, otherwise he'd have done this numerous times in the past year, but Xev was right. He wouldn't risk assassination. Dasyu nodded. "Alright, Preliator. When and where?"

"There's a huge lake to the west. I'm sure you can find it on your map. It's the largest one in Africa. On the southern side of the lake are a chain of inlands. The middle-most island is the one where we'll meet."

"I'm sure we can find it."

"We will meet fourteen days from today, at about two in the afternoon. As promised, I give to you my favor. There will be no attacks whatsoever during that time. None of your convoys will be touched, but any B.S. on your end and the favor's off."

Dasyu nodded. "Sounds good. This better be worth my time or you will sorely regret it."

The threat didn't seem to faze Preliator at all. He just shrugged. "I'll see you soon." The image went dark.

All of the Generals looked at Dasyu, curious as to what was going into his mind. The leader of the rebels wanted to meet with him. This could be the chance they need to end this conflict once and for all, but their leader might honor the agreement. Either way, they at least were guaranteed a reprieve from the sudden attacks on the convoys.

Talon finally broke the silence. "So, my lord…what are we going to do?"

Dasyu sat back down in his chair and pondered what he just did. _This is either a great decision or a mistake._ He looked up at Talon. "We're going to meet with Preliator, but he's got another thing coming if he thinks he'll be alive in two weeks. Talon, I want you to round up a few decent snipers."

A rare, smug smile broke out on Talon's face. "Will do, sir."

"Xev?" The General turned at Dasyu's inquiry. "Tell us more about your plan."

The General smiled and activated her files. A map appeared on the screen, with red dots in seemingly random locations. "These are places we've been to in the past, searching for alternate beast forms. Here's what we do."

* * *

><p>The crisp, cool air was rare on a day in Africa, but that's just what the Preliators got on their return trip to the Pride Lands. It didn't matter, given their mode of transportation. However, they were all just glad that they finally were going back to their home. Even though they had been gone for a few days, it seemed like months to them. They weren't used to being away for so long, aside from the rescue mission the previous year. But this war demanded such duties.<p>

Aboard the _**Paratus Preliator**_, Danny flew the ship, with Chumvi as co-pilot and Haraka in the communications seat. Mheetu and Tojo were manning the turrets should any trouble come their way. The Iron Curtain system was activated, so they could fly invisible to the naked eye and scanners, in spite of its limited use during flight. If the ship was docked, the system had proven to stay active for at least a week. Thankfully, it wasn't needed once they got home.

Danny first flew to Tupac's home, and then dropped off Malka at his. Now, it was about ten more minutes until they entered their land. With the exception of Haraka, all of them were looking forward to being with their mates again. It wasn't long ago when Aziza and Shani announced they were pregnant. The joy of that day was amazing, and everyone was looking forward to seeing the next generation of cubs in the Pride Lands.

After the Battle for the Pride Lands, the pride had united together. However, the losses were great, and the rebuilding had been a long, painful process. It was tiring for all of them, being exhausted of rebuilding for the second time in eight years. On the bright side, things were looking up. Peace had, once again, resumed its course in the Pride Lands. Zira wasn't planning another rebellion, or anyone for that matter. If it did, the people would be quick to report it.

For the pride, things were starting to return to normal. Vitani had eventually forgiven Zira for her crimes against the young lioness and her brother. Both Vitani and Kovu had spent more time with their real parents and made up for lost time between the four. It was awkward, at first, but soon things got up to speed.

Zira had a hard time being brought back into the pride. Most didn't trust her, and that was to be expected. Danny, Simba, Nala, Zainabu, and the senior lionesses made the first step in welcoming her back. She had definitely changed over the last year, baring little resemblance to her name. The loving, joyful attitude she now bore on her face was amazing; no one would think that she was so full of hate and evil in years past if they didn't know her until this point. However, she still carried a perfectionist attitude from years past, especially when it came to hunting. Even though Nala was the leader of the hunting party, Zira served as an excellent mentor for the younger lionesses, and though they still didn't fully trust her, there was no questioning Zira's hunting knowledge.

Among other changes were the roles of the sentinels. With Tojo, Mheetu, and Chumvi gone to fight alongside Danny, someone had to take their places. That someone came in the forms of Tanabi, Vitani, and Kovu. Even though Kovu was now a prince being trained to help his mate with the rulings of the kingdom, he needed to patrol the lands like a normal king. So far, they were doing a good job at it. No rogue lion would dare challenge this kingdom for a long time to come.

Danny, who was now back in human form, put in a disc and let some rap music play. The others didn't really know what to make of the music, but they never said anything. Even though twelve months had gone by, he still wasn't completely used to the lion and robot forms he received. He just stuck to his preference, but only once he was back aboard the ship and away from the base. He didn't want to take a chance of a spy seeing him and reporting back to Dasyu. That would bring chaos. He shrugged those thoughts aside as he looked at Chumvi. "Ten minutes before we reach home, buddy. You excited to see Aziza?"

Chumvi looked back at him. "Do you need to ask that question?"

"Just felt like saying a dumb question to get a conversation going," Danny said, shrugging.

"Good…" Haraka replied from behind them. "…because I didn't feel like asking the dumb question."

Danny snorted. "Glad to know you're still awake, Haraka."

"Glad to know you noticed," came the wise-cracking retort.

Shaking his head, Chumvi looked at Danny. "You know, I never asked you. How do you feel now that you're not a king anymore?"

To Haraka and Chumvi's surprise, Danny didn't seem all that disappointed. "To be honest, I'm kind of glad I'm no longer holding that title. There shouldn't be two kings to begin with, and I only took it because the land needed leadership. With peace and unity all but restored here, and the war with Dasyu, I decided to step down. Some people will miss me, but it was never meant for me to rule this kingdom." He leaned back in his chair. "Besides, I like just being part of the pride. I feel more at home being a normal person."

"I agree with you there," Haraka said. "I don't really miss the majordomo part, but I do miss the title a little."

"Why am I not surprised?" Chumvi said, dryly. Before Haraka could respond, he looked at Danny. "So, what part of your time here were you the most at ease?"

Danny thought that one over. He wasn't sure if he even had a time like that, but some did come close. "I think I felt the most at ease during my first two months here, before Scar had caused trouble, but I also would have to say the month after being married was also relaxing for me. I'm happily married, my family is in a better place, and the inner conflicts of the Pride Lands have been settled."

"Do you ever have thoughts about going back home? I mean, to your original home?"

"I've thought about it from time to time," Danny said. "But my family is here now, so I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." He noticed he was five minutes from having to prepare to land. "Now my turn for the questions and this is for both of you. What's your take on Bren and the others he recruited?"

Chumvi and Haraka exchanged glances. They were each wondering who would answer first. Chumvi finally answered. "I do understand Tojo and Mheetu's bias against him. He is…was a Specter for Dasyu. He, along with the others, might be spies trying to rip us apart from the inside." His expression softened. "But I'm not as vocal as our two gunners and I haven't seen anything that would make me suspicious of him."

Haraka seconded that. "I think he's done so much for us in providing for the war. He helped us blow Facility One, and there's no way Dasyu would sacrifice that just to lure us into a false sense of security. Besides, he thought we were dead, so why would he send Bren as a spy?"

"But Bren could've been reporting us to Dasyu when he left to recruit the others, and then was used as a spy," Chumvi argued. "I trust him, but I have my eye on him right now."

"I hear you, Chumvi," Danny said. "But I trust him. If he did want to report us, I think he would've let me die in that raging river with Zira last year. Still, your concerns are warranted and noted. I don't want to lose my home again."

"I appreciate your understanding our points on this and trust your judgment and leadership." The brown Preliator's face went slack. "Is this why you had Tojo and Mheetu take the gunner spots? To get our take on Bren?"

"Good guess, Chumvi. Yes, I wanted to hear your take on Bren. I already know their take on him and understand their distrust of him. But I do ask that all of us work together, at least until the war is over. Once that happens, I don't care as long as another war doesn't break out among us."

A loud beeping indicated that they were two minutes from landing. Danny straightened himself from the leaned-back position he was in and grabbed the controls. "Home sweet home, boys. Time for a little R&R."

* * *

><p><strong>See the review button below? Please send me your feedback. I'd love to know what I'm doing good in and what needs to be improved.<strong>


	3. Basic Training

**Here we are with the third chapter, and back in the Pride Lands. Enjoy it!**

* * *

><p>"Can we stop for a break? All of this teaching is putting my mind into an overload."<p>

Simba rolled his eyes at his daughter's complaining. Ever since Danny had stepped down as king, Simba had the mantle of leadership completely on himself, prompting him to take steps to further prepare the next generation. That meant training Kiara and Kovu for the role of leadership. Tanabi also had to take part in the training, and he was more confused than tired since he wasn't the one given the blessing of taking the throne in time. Even though Kiara was married and had grown up a lot, she and Kovu still had a lot to know before taking the throne after him. It included a lot of teachings away from everyone else, and that meant a lot of walking around. While he could sympathize with her-she had to learn from Nala, Zira, and Sarabi in leading hunts as well as sharpening her technique-that was no excuse to ease up on her royal training.

"No," he replied to his daughter. "My time here is not infinite. You and Kovu need to be ready for the throne and you still have a lot to learn."

"But I've already learned so much today. When I'm not here, I'm out hunting with the lionesses and learning to be a hunt leader."

Kovu nuzzled her. "Kiara, as much as I don't like doing this almost every day, your father does have a point. We do need to be taught as much as we can to be ready for this. Even I need quite a few pointers in leadership."

Simba was grateful for Kovu's help. He was definitely glad Tojo's son was taking everything in stride, and did a good job of holding his emotions back; a promising sign for a future leader._ He will be a great help to Kiara._ Keeping his tone neutral and non-judgmental, the older lion began walking again, with the two flanking him. "Now, as king and queen, you will have to be constantly ready for challenges you will no doubt face. Zazu will be here for a while and will assist you with morning reports and the occasional evening report. It will be your jobs to arrange to meet with the people, sort out any problems, and just to see how everyone is doing."

Tanabi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "My question is: why me? I'm not set to take the throne, Pops. Why do I have to come along for these lessons?"

Simba let out an exasperated sigh. "When your grandfather was being raised, his father had trained him, but not his brother. When Scar took the throne, he had no idea of the responsibilities as king. The lands were nearly destroyed and part of that was because of his lack of training."

The eldest of Simba's children frowned. "Okay…so what does that have to do with me?"

"If something happens to Kiara and Kovu after I'm gone, you will need to take the reigns of the pride and lead them. We have to be prepared for the worst that can happen."

"Duly noted, Dad," was the subdued reply from Tanabi.

"How does my role work in the grand scheme of things?" Kovu asked. "I know I'm set to be king, but I'm not the heir by blood."

"I was just getting to that," Simba said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Kiara is the royal heir, so the decisions will be hers. As king, you will offer advice and counsel to her in tough times, and will more than likely handle the duties she has from time to time. One of your primary jobs is to patrol the lands for intruders and function as an enforcer among the people. If you don't, the people may become bold and cause dissention among others. That must not happen."

Kovu nodded, fighting to keep a smirk from showing on his face. "I don't think that will be an issue, Simba. Not only do I have Tanabi and Vitani helping me out on patrolling the lands, but I know how to get the point across."

"Not to mention Uncle Danny is here to assist with maintaining the order," Kiara added in.

It was hard not to agree with Kiara's statement. Danny had been around for a long time, and given his longer lifespan, he would be around for years to come. However, that would most likely be written in stone after he was done with Dasyu. Danny may have been back from the dead, but that didn't make him immortal. He also had a limited weapons supply, or so Danny said. But with his lion form, and an intimidating one at that, there was more to fighting than with rifles.

"That is true, and Danny will be here long after I'm gone and probably after you're gone. He's definitely showed us we can trust him and then some. However, you can't completely count on him to help you. There may come a time where you are on your own."

"Understood, Father," Kiara replied.

"So, is there something else we are doing out here besides walking and getting a lesson?" Kovu asked.

"We're going to visit one of the mandrill clans. I want to see how they're doing since the monkeys came to live in their trees. Hopefully, this will go smooth."

"Great," Tanabi said sarcastically. "I just love getting into one of their banana pelting contests."

The four continued to walk through the tall grass as it swayed with the afternoon breeze. It was great to see the lands in such a peaceful condition. Simba had relished the moments over the past year. The pride was reunited, no hyenas scurried around in the darkness, and the people seemed just fine. The last time they had peace like this, it was the first few months of Simba's life. Looking all over the lands, it was nice to stop and take the time to observe the wonders and makings of the Creator.

Up ahead, they could see the trees that held the reported mandrill clan they were seeking. Even from a distance, there was commotion at the trees, and a mix of monkeys and mandrills were swinging from branch to branch. None of the four lions could tell if it was good or bad, but they were hoping for the best. They remained confident, though, that if it were a bad situation, they could handle it.

They had reached the acacia trees and were thankful that there weren't any disputes. In fact, they all seemed to be having a good time with each other, playing and following each other from one branch to another. Some of the mandrills and monkeys were talking to each other, making sure everything was fine.

One of the mandrills noticed the king down below them and signaled the rest. "Everyone! The king is in our presence. This is a true honor." He bowed to Simba, and the rest of the two clans did likewise.

Simba dipped his own head in return. "I see you are all enjoying yourselves very well. Is it safe to assume your clans are getting along with each other?"

"It's been amazing that we've gotten along so well, but a lot of that is thanks to what you and Danny have done for us. You've taught us to work out differences in the best of both clans' interests."

"That's great news," Simba responded.

A monkey jumped down in front of the king. "Another reason is the safety you've brought us. As long as you and Danny remain here, no one can destroy us. This safety has allowed us to realize our differences are petty and we can learn to co-exist in the same home."

What the monkey said struck a nerve in Simba. It was good to know they felt safe, but they sounded a little overconfident. The whole pride felt a sense of invincibility before Mufasa's death many years ago, so they knew better than to feel untouchable. However, most of the people now didn't know that very well. Simba smiled, though his mood grew a little dark.

"I'm glad to see both of your clans are working together rather than fighting over petty differences."

The monkey's answer did not temper Simba's darkening mood. "With us being this safe, life is so much easier to not make emotional, impulsive decisions."

Simba tried to find the right words to say. "Well…I'm glad things are going well for you. Let my majordomo know if anything comes up that you will need my presence."

"We will, your Highness."

The three lions turned tail and began walking through the grassy plains. Both Kiara and Kovu could tell Simba was upset, and it was from the meeting with the two clans just now. Simba was also unusually quiet, as he had been pretty vocal in his teachings. Kiara finally decided to break the silence and walked up next to her father. "Daddy, what's the matter?"

Simba shook his mane in hopes that she wouldn't see his frustration. "It's nothing to be concerned about. I'm sure I'm over-thinking a situation, Kiara. Don't worry."

But to be honest, he was only fooling himself. The two primate clans already seemed to be full of pride, and that nothing could happen. It was only minor, but if it wasn't kept in check, this could become a problem. The people had every right to feel safe, but it would be foolish to think they would stand forever. _Father, please do not let this pride and arrogance grow._ He knew what happened from childhood experience when he let his pride get in the way, and it nearly cost Nala's life.

He shivered at that memory, but he dismissed it. The war may never reach the Pride Lands and these people were okay with feeling good about being at peace. But if the war did reach their home, the arrogance would be the last thing they would need in order to defend themselves. Arrogance leads to ignorance and underestimation of the enemy. Or worse, it can lead to breakdown under stress.

Above, a soaring noise was heard in the sky. Kiara's ears perked up and her face brightened. "It's Uncle Danny. He's home." She looked at Simba. "Can Kovu and I go to see him, Father?"

Simba decided it would be best for both of them if she did leave. He needed to think about what had just transpired by the trees, and didn't want to risk worrying his daughter and sons about this. "I guess we can call it a day for your training. Go on ahead. I'll be along in a little bit."

"Yes! Thank you, Daddy!" Kiara shouted in a gleeful tone. With a jubilant bound, she was off to Pride Rock, with Kovu close behind.

Tanabi leaned over towards his father. "I suppose you would like some time alone, Dad?"

"If it's not too much trouble, Tanabi, I would appreciate it."

"That's fine. Besides, I've got a meeting with Vitani."

"Drop the charade and just call it a date, son." The humor in Simba's voice helped shade the slight worry that his mind had become focused on.

"Alright, I have a date. See you later." Tanabi then took off running to the western side of the lands.

As he watched his son take off in full stride, Simba stopped to think about what happened at the trees. He was glad the monkeys and mandrills felt safe. He, himself, was glad to feel that safety for the first time in years. But it seemed like their pride was swelling due to the safety. The pride had done that once, and paid dearly, particularly his father. He closed his eyes tightly. _No, no, I can't think about it._

He decided to put it aside for now. It was only a small group of people, and it probably was just a phase they were going through. In spite of his thoughts, he was going to inform Danny and see what he thought about this. Whether now would be the right time or not was the question.

"He'll probably say the same thing. This shouldn't be a big problem." Simba laughed at realizing Danny was about to arrive. "Of course, I can't tell him if I don't go see him."

He took off in full stride towards Pride Rock, looking forward to seeing his brother again.

* * *

><p>The two lionesses faced off with each other. For about two minutes, they had been looking for an opening in the other's defense. But every time one found one, they jumped to exploit it. And every time, they countered the other's attacks. It was a stalemate, and the tussle was down to which one had the better stamina. Others had surrounded the two, watching to see who would win. Of course, this was not for sport. They were being trained by two of the best, who were a little closer to the two fighting lionesses.<p>

Zira and Sarabi, well past their primes, were now serving as mentors to the younger generations of lionesses. Sarabi had already earned the respect of the pride, thanks to her time served as the rightful queen. Her hunting skills had served invaluable to the pride, and her fighting skills instilled a sense of grace with power. Zira, on the other hand, was still working to earn her place again in the pride. Her actions from the last eight years were anything but glorious for her. Danny and Simba had pardoned her for her crimes, and the change in her was amazing. No longer did she live to her name's meaning, but rather a more kindhearted lioness that had remained dormant for most of her life. However, that did not mean she was the nicest person around when it came to teaching and training. She was often hard, pushing others to their limits and beyond. Even though the pride still had a sense of skepticism about her, there was no denying her hunting and fighting skills. She was even more honed than Sarabi, mainly because she had devoted more time to it in her adolescent years.

The entire day was spent training the younger lionesses to sharpen their fighting skills to better defend their land. All of them were pushed beyond their definition of limits, and were nearing their breaking point. It was down to who wanted the victory more.

"Come on, Tavira. Plant your hind paws when making a swipe!" Zira shouted. "You know you need to have momentum in your swing. If you swing too hard, you'll lose your balance. In a real battle, an enemy will take you down if you miss them."

Tavira took Zira's instructions as best as she could, but the verbal beat-down, coupled with the tiring fight, was taking a toll on her, mentally. Her opponent, Akili, was one of the lionesses who grew up an Outsider. She was well-skilled in fighting and hunting. Zira wasn't as hard on her, mainly because Akili had already been through this sort of training with her.

Sarabi, on the other hand, was a little gentler, but just as instructive. "Plant your legs, Tavira. You must have balance in order to win the fight. You can't play defensive forever."

Tavira and Akili circled around each other, keeping low to the ground. If they walked too high, their center of gravity would rise as well, giving their opponent a better advantage at balance. What's more, their necks would be more exposed, and that would signal an end to the fight. Tavira, tired from tussling with Akili, made her move. It was a low spring forward.

That was a major mistake. Akili took the blow and turned the pouncing lioness on her back. When the pitch and roll had ended, Akili was on top of Tavira with her paw against Tavira's throat. The battle was over. Akili didn't say a word, but a confident smirk to Tavira told her she still had more to learn when it came to fighting.

Zira gave quick congratulations to Akili before turning towards Tavira. "Great job, Akili. Good technique. Tavira, you're better than that. You need to plant your feet if you want to have an effective attack. If you want to impress me, work on your technique and battle me. I may be old, but I've still got some fight."

"Yes, Zira." Tavira could do nothing but accept the criticism. Talking back was only going to cause more stress and she needed to focus her efforts on her fighting skills.

Sarabi thought that was a little harsh, but Zira did have a point, and backed up what she said. "You have others counting on you, Tavira." Turning to look at the rest of the lionesses, she said, "Everyone here needs to watch each other's back. If you do, then this entire pride will be that much more effective in defending these lands."

"But that's when all of you get to that point," Zira said, making sure the lionesses knew where they were at in working together. "If you don't get this down, if you don't get it right, you are going to die in battle."

"Nobody's going to kill us, especially with Danny and the others to help," the lioness Tyronica said.

Zira nodded in mock agreement. "Oh, yeah. Clearly, Ty. After what I just saw from Tavira, you lionesses are going to destroy everybody. Next two lionesses, to the center of the circle."

Sarabi held up a paw. "Zira, a moment of your time?" Zira nodded and they both walked away from the group. They wanted to keep the conversation to themselves. "I think we should call it a day. They've been at it since early in the morning and have gone beyond what they thought were their limits. If they go any further, they run the risk of health issues."

"No," Zira said. "They need to be ready to fight if it comes down to that. The sentinels are good, but we may need the entire pride." She was definitely adamant on continued training.

"That's exactly my point here. Giving them some rest physically and mentally will help them improve. Anyone can be grinded into nothing, but that is not what this training is about. It's about making them stronger."

Zira thought hard over this, but finally relented. "Alright, they have the rest of the day to themselves. But I do want them to be working on their skills in their free time."

"I agree." The two senior lionesses walked back to the group, who were waiting anxiously for the next phase of training. "Alright, you have the rest of the day off. Take this time to regain your strength and be ready for tomorrow's hunt."

"But you are also to practice your technique in your spare time," Zira added in. "You don't have to go full force against each other, but you need to practice your moves in order to get better. If you are strong in one area, help another out who is not. As a pride, we're only as strong as our weakest link, so work to make sure we have none. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your day."

The lionesses breathed a sigh of relief. With their training over with, they all departed back for Pride Rock. They were moving at a groggily slow pace, which wasn't surprising. The senior lionesses, particularly Zira and Sarabi, were pushing them hard when they alternated days between hunts and battle training. So hard, in fact, that the hunts seemed to be a pure joy in terms of physical punishment.

Sarabi and Zira lagged behind the rest of the group. They had much to talk about. Sarabi was the first to start the conversation. "You know, you're pushing them awfully hard with this battle training, Zira. As much as I appreciate good training, there is a difference between tough and insane, and you've already been accused of the latter before."

"I understand that, Sarabi," Zira responded politely. "But this is something that's needed for the pride, especially the younger ones."

"I'm not against that at all, but you need to tone it down a little. This isn't the Outlands, where you have to survive on scraps."

"In case you haven't realized the situation, we are at war. Danny and his soldiers may be doing well, but we are just as much in this fight as they are. This Dasyu is the main enemy, and he could knock on our front doorstep, as Danny would put it. We must be prepared to defend ourselves and aid Danny if it comes down to that situation."

Sarabi's ear twitched. "You also have to factor in the part where there are still some pride members who still don't trust you yet. Giving them stressful training like this only dampens that progress."

That last statement seemed to cut into Zira, as she expressed a momentary pained look on her face. "I know that, and it's been a tough year regaining that trust. But that still does not excuse me, or the rest of the senior lionesses, from preparing our replacements. We won't be here forever, Sarabi. You, of all lionesses, should know that."

"I do, Zira, I do. I just feel like having the trust of your fellow pride members is the greatest asset in a battle."

"You have no disagreement from me on that, but trust only goes so far without physical preparation. If these lionesses can handle all the stressful situations that I dole out to them, then they can handle the effects of war. The plus for all of them is that they've all had some experience in battle, so the mentality is there in all of them." Zira stopped to scratch her ear. "But as far as everything else, these lionesses still have a lot to learn."

Sarabi nodded. She knew that Zira cared for these lionesses deep down. It's just that the former Outsider leader showed it in a different way. Zira was pushing the pride to be their best so that they could handle anything and, more importantly, not die. Neither of the lioness matriarchs wanted to lose anyone, and this training helped prepare the pride for the worst-case scenario. "Well, let's rest the subject now. We all need some downtime to spend with friends and family."

"Yeah," Zira said blankly.

Sarabi knew immediately the reason for Zira's lack of emotion. She had lost Scar, her love, and Nuka, her only son. Kovu and Vitani were abducted and became her surrogate children. After her confession of what happened, Kovu was quick to forgive. Vitani was another story. She took a few months before she finally forgave Zira for stealing three years of her life. Things were awkward since then, and Zira had been alone in terms of relatives. The senior lionesses did their best to make her feel as part of the pride again, and even Danny and Simba had helped, but it only dulled the pain; it would never go away.

Thankfully, Sarabi's "change of subject" plan came in the sound of a familiar, screaming engine in the sky. They both looked up to see Danny's ship coming in from the southern border, where Malka and Tupac's prides lived. The ship was slowing down to a cruising speed on a direct line to the Pride Rock summit. Looking at Zira, Sarabi smiled. "Now that he's back, why don't we see how Danny's doing? I'm certain he would love to hear of your report on the pride's training."

"You think so?" Zira asked, sounding a little more hopeful.

"In all honest truth, I think it would be pleasing to hear some good news on what's going on back home."

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go meet the General, Sarabi."

The two lionesses took off for Pride Rock, hoping to greet Danny with open paws and hear word of his war with Dasyu. Hopefully, things would be mutually encouraging for everyone.

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><p><strong>Yeah, that review button? It still hasn't gone anywhere. LOL. Hope you enjoyed this one!<strong>


	4. Catching up with the Cats

**Three down, who knows how many more chapters to go. Here's the fourth!**

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><p>Danny set down the <em><strong>Preliator<strong>_ on top of the summit. Another day of the war with Dasyu in the books; now, it was time to relax back at home. He always wondered what it was like being a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan back home, back in the Earth he knew. Now, he had some first-hand experience. _Of course, I don't have a big ocean separating the danger from my home._

He finished powering down the ship and walked out to the maintenance bay, where the others were waiting. All four of them were back in their original forms, waiting for him to head to the ramp and throw the lever. They all were anxious to get out and be with their families, and he could understand that. He, himself, was excited to see his wife again.

"Alright, guys. You ready to relax for a while?" Danny asked, even though their faces told the story.

"Do I have to answer that?" Haraka responded in usual sarcastic fashion.

"Just felt like asking another stupid question for humor's sake," Danny said while throwing the lever down.

The ramp wasn't even all the way down when the four felines bolted for their destinations; Haraka to his family, and Tojo, Chumvi, and Mheetu headed for their mates. Danny decided to take a moment to look at the view of the Pride Lands. It was an absolutely amazing sight, one he never got used to. The sun was beaming brightly in the nearly cloudless sky, fully illustrating the many colors of the land.

Down among the lands, he saw a pack of elephants moving towards a waterhole, with a herd of zebra alongside them. They seemed to be chatting with each other, making good of their time. Danny smiled. It was so great to see the people getting along so well. He hadn't seen peace like this since his first time in these lands. Hopefully he could enjoy this peace to the fullest extent once the war was over.

He was about to walk out from under the ship when a figure bumped him bodily a step backward. Danny caught a glimpse of her face before a pair of soft, warm lips pressed against his. His heart began beating rapidly, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, taking in the scent of her light brown hair. He felt her arms wrap around his neck as the two shared a passionate kiss.

Regrettably and reluctantly, he broke the kiss and stared into her jaded green eyes. "Wow, Zee. I can tell I've been missed the last few…"

Zainabu kissed him again. "You're here, I'm here. The missing part is over, my love."

Danny smiled. "Well, now that the missing part is over, let's get to the 'welcome home' celebration."

"Sounds good to me," Zainabu said, cheerfully. "The rest of the pride is excited to see you again. They want to hear of your latest adventure in the war."

"I don't think adventure and war go in the same sentence," Danny corrected. In adventure, there was a sense of joy and thrill to the whole subject. War was the polar opposite, and there needed to be a barrier between the two.

"Okay, your latest _report_ on the war. They do want to hear what's going on and when you think it might be over."

"I will tell them later. Right now, I want to get updates from everyone and then you and I are going to enjoy the rest of the day together." Danny leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you adjusting to walking on two legs?"

Zainabu looked down at herself and back up at him. "Pretty easy now that I've had a year of practice. It is different, though. How about you? You like being a lion every once in a while?"

"Usually when I'm hunting with the pride and when I'm fighting with Dasyu. You knew how hard it was for me to adjust."

It had been a year since the marvelous miracle happened. Being brought back to life didn't happen every day, let alone with alternate forms. The lion form had given him many new advantages that he had never had before. His hearing and sense of smelling increased immensely, and his eyes could clearly see things from great distances. The padded feet offered him greater stealth and his golden mane aided in camouflaging him with the land. The only issue was the lacking ability to fire a weapon, but his sharp claws and teeth made up for that disadvantage.

Zainabu's main advantage of being human, at least in her eyes, was that she could actually enjoy kissing her husband. Being held by him made her feel at ease with almost everything, which was also a huge plus. Danny had also taught her some self-defense fighting techniques and trained her with the weapons he had. He even taught her how to fly the ship, on a rudimentary scale. Danny hoped she wouldn't have to be in a battle, but it was prudent to have her ready just in case. The moments they shared were a lot more intimate since their radical change a year ago.

The Preliators and Danny also were quick to learn their new robot forms. They had quickly learned to handle weapons and systems, with Danny teaching them a lot about certain techniques to help them hone their skills as fighters. His particular advantage of the robot form was keeping his identity concealed. As far as Dasyu knew, Danny was dead and this General Preliator was just one of his own Specters in rebellion against him. One day, Danny planned to reveal himself to Dasyu just like he did years ago, when Danny thought he was dead.

As they made their way down the slope of the summit, both were greeted warmly by the rest of the pride. They all looked subdued, but their energetic voices suggested otherwise. Danny dropped to a knee and wrapped his arms around each one of them. Kiara was especially happy to see him, and displayed that happiness by tackling her uncle and nuzzling his face. Kovu was a little more laid back, and just simply gave him a hug.

Tanabi was his usual, informal self. He held out his hand for Danny to slap. "What's good, fearless leader?"

"Old ways and new days, T." Danny got up to look at all of them. "It's good to see everyone again."

"The feeling's mutual," Tanabi replied. "How's everything going on with the war?"

"Yes, please tell us." That was Xolani, an old friend and one of the few remaining senior lionesses in the pride.

Danny was saved by another familiar voice. "I think questions about the war can wait. Danny's most likely in need of some rest and it won't hurt you to wait until tomorrow to ask him."

Everyone in the pride bowed as Simba entered the congregated area. That is, everyone except for Danny and Tanabi. Danny may no longer have been the king and, therefore, a subject among the pride, but he was always informal even during his reign. Danny's informality had rubbed off on Tanabi greatly, and even when he returned after three years, it hadn't changed. Even though the son of Simba was a prince by blood, he had adopted a simpler lifestyle. He just preferred to be "one of the gang" as he and Danny said; no real ambitions of ruling a kingdom. Both of them gave a respectable nod and abortive wave of paw and hand.

Simba returned the bow and spoke again. "I think what we need right now is a piece of those two antelopes we brought back from the hunt earlier. Everyone has my blessing to eat. Go ahead and help yourselves."

The pride all headed into the cave to begin eating. Left standing outside was Simba, Nala, Sarabi, Zira, Danny, and Zainabu. They would eat later. For now, there was some talk to be taken care of, first. It wasn't often these days that they could get this sort of opportunity; just a chance for them to sit down and talk.

Danny placed a hand on Simba's shoulder. "Thanks, little brother. You saved me back there."

"I could tell, _big_ brother." He put emphasis on the word "big" for some humor, since Danny was much smaller than him. "You looked pretty beat. Are things that rough over there?"

"You could say that. Problem is, it's internal right now." He sighed, thinking of how much Tojo and Mheetu resented Bren and the rest of the former Specters. "Everything's okay now, but if this war doesn't end soon, our own guys will tear some of our allies apart. Getting them to trust each other is proving to be a challenge."

"That does sound tough," Nala said.

"Yeah, then there's the war. We're doing pretty well so far, but we're only gonna go as far as we can all get along. The attacks have been coordinated perfectly, and we are doing a great job at disrupting Dasyu's supply chain."

The others exchanged pleasant glances. This was great news for them to hear. Simba extended his claws and scratched the ground. "That's excellent news, Danny. The people will be happy to hear this." He quickly frowned, remembering what happened with his visits among the people. He then realized that he was frowning, and was quick to change it back to a smile.

Danny caught it, and furrowed his brow. He didn't know why Simba would frown at telling good news to the people. If anything, this should be wonderful news for them to know that their General is winning the war and peace would continue in the Pride Lands. _I guess I'll have to ask him later. He might not want to say it in front of everyone else._

He decided to add in the extra piece of news. _This is either going to be either very good news or very bad to them._ He cleared his throat so that he had everyone's attention. They all looked at him expectantly. "I have some…other news. You'll have to interpret it for yourself."

"I have a feeling it's not going to be our usual report," Zira said.

"It's not," Danny replied, keeping his tone neutral. "I have made personal contact with Dasyu. I'm hoping this will be a quick solution to ending this war, but I've asked him to meet with me personally."

The reactions he got from them didn't surprise him; they were all shocked. Sarabi seemed the most calm about it. She knew her adopted son wouldn't do anything to endanger the people. Zira, on the other hand, was the most vocal of them. "Meet with him! Why would you do som-"

"Easy, Zira," Sarabi interjected, raising a paw. "I'm sure Danny has his reasons."

"Yeah…" Simba didn't sound convinced. "But I'd still like to hear your explanation for this, brother."

Danny nodded, seeming totally calm in his expression and voice. That usually was enough for them to relax a little, but this was different. "I was just getting to that. I'll start by saying I'm not bringing him here. I plan to meet with him near a large lake a great distance from here. I'm gonna try to offer a peaceful solution and give him one chance to redeem himself. He agrees to leave all armaments, vehicles, and such behind. He will gather up all of his remaining personnel and leave this planet for good. I'll have some of the Preliators permanently erase any data leading his kind back to Earth, and they will depart and head back to their homeworld."

Nala seemed just as skeptical as Simba and Zira. "Do you think he'll actually agree to that?"

"I'll be honest, it's not likely. But I still have to do this. If he does agree, it'll guarantee peace externally. You've gotta remember here, Dasyu has lost over eighty percent of his forces and has only one facility left. He doesn't have that much left in equipment and if we keep taking out his supply chain, he'll have no choice."

That answer still didn't make the queen entirely comfortable with that. "What if he leaves and comes back with an even greater force to battle you? From what you've said, it's hard enough as it is."

"I talked to my chief Specter contact about that possibility. From what he was able to access in the database, Dasyu is a rogue among his own people. He left rather hastily from the planet with a huge ship and what he had inside. That's why he came here: so that he and his crew could be a people of their own. I doubt they'll just give him what he wants, were he to go back."

Zainabu was definitely the most concerned, and her question expressed that. "What if Dasyu tries to take you out? He may kill you."

"She's got a point, Danny," Simba said. "This could be a trap to take you out. With you gone, it may give him the morale boost he needs to finish off the rest of the Preliators."

Danny wrapped an arm around Zainabu. "I've already planned for that possibility. It's on a small island, so he can't bring too many ground forces there. Mheetu and Tojo are going to head up the sniper teams to cover me, while Bren and some pilots are going to be waiting nearby in case of an aerial attack. Don't worry. I've got this covered. Haraka will stay with me personally as direct support."

"What if Dasyu tries the same thing?" Zira asked.

"We're going to go two days early to scout the area and set up. Our guys will find the most advantageous locations on the mainland and take out any sniper teams he may have. If Dasyu agrees to a peace settlement, then we'll be fine."

Simba narrowed his eyes. "And if he doesn't?"

"Then the war will continue." He saw their disappointed expressions. "Hey, guys. I don't like this any more than you do, but if we can draw a peaceful solution, then we can live the rest of our lives in peace. If not, we're still on the winning side. We've been chewing away at them, and sooner or later, they're going to fall. It's a win-win situation for us."

"As long as no one begins fighting internally," Zira said under her breath, referencing to Danny's issue with his men.

"Well, nothing has gone wrong on your end, so we're behind you 100%," Simba said. "We're just a little skeptical about this."

"Understandable," was all Danny said.

Simba looked inside. He took a sniff and could smell the faint traces of antelope wafting out of the cave. "Smells like dinner is calling us. See you all inside." He began to walk in with Nala right next to him.

Sarabi came up to Danny and pulled him into a tight embrace. "It's good to have you back, Danny."

"It's good to be back, Mom," he said, holding her tightly.

They released their embrace and Sarabi headed inside, leaving Danny with Zainabu and Zira. No doubt, Danny was sure to hear a report from Zira. He was glad she was the last one, because he really wanted some quality time with Zee. Of course, he wouldn't start without giving Zira a hug, and pulled her into a tight one. Zira was hesitant, at first, but eventually wrapped a paw around him. It was odd that they once considered each other mortal enemies. Now, a year's time had proved much the difference.

Danny released her from the embrace. "How've the last few days been, Zira?" He went to sit down on a nearby boulder.

She smiled, one of her better ones. "It's been interesting to, say the least. You ready for the report with the lionesses?"

He folded his arms. "Fire away."

Zira began to pace back and forth. Usually, that meant she was tense and ready to attack, but this seemed more like excitement to the other two. "For the most part, the lionesses are getting better and better. Most of the ones whom I had in the Outlands are fine. They've been under my training for three years. The others are a little tougher. They've been used to living in peace for many years and have learned a very finesse form of battling. The exceptions are the senior lionesses."

All of this didn't surprise Danny. The former Outsiders and all lionesses who lived with Danny during Scar's reign knew what living a tough life was like. "So it's the mental toughness that's the issue?" Zira nodded in response. "How are they on their technique?"

"Other than a very small number of lionesses, everyone is pretty sound on their technique," Zira replied. "Even Kiara has done much better in both fighting and hunting."

"That's excellent news."

Her smile faded a little. "However, Sarabi has questioned my training. I was curious on getting your take."

This was another thing that was brewing. Danny knew Sarabi and Zira would have some conflicting moments in their training. Both were great mentors, but had different styles of training. While Sarabi was a pat-on-the-back type, Zira was a rough-and-tumble drill sergeant. He knew that they were different, but they complemented each other very well.

His answer was swift and clear. "There's no telling if this war reaches our land. If it does, we need to be best prepared for the worst. To do that, mental toughness is key and I know you definitely can teach them that." He looked back into the cave and back at her. "I'll be talking with Sarabi about this, but I want you to keep doing what you're doing. You're a great trainer and have shown to be a great leader, Zira."

She resisted the urge to look down shyly. "I wasn't expecting a compliment, but thanks."

"They won't like the training, but they will learn fast. We don't have time on our side, so they will have to adjust."

Then an idea popped into her head. "We resume training the day after tomorrow. I was wondering if you could help them out, maybe."

That was something that never occurred to him. He pondered the idea. "I could do that. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, from what you said, our enemy walks, talks, and fights like you. Maybe giving the younger lionesses some pointers on how to take down one of them could give them some training that I couldn't provide."

"Now, that_ is_ an idea. I'll be sure to come by and help. This could provide them with an edge that they could use. When do you start your training?"

"We'll be leaving Pride Rock once the sun fully rises over the horizon. Your knowledge will prove invaluable to all of us, myself included."

Danny stood and nodded at her. "Anything to help us be prepared for the worst."

"Well, I'm going to be heading inside," Zira said. "There's a piece of antelope calling my name and you two have some catching up to do together." She gave them a wink, causing Zainabu to blush.

"That we do. Have a good night, Zira," Zainabu said.

"You, as well." With that, Zira turned and headed inside the cave.

Danny sighed, now grateful that the business was taken care of. The sun was still high in the sky, but it was beginning its descent into the evening; plenty of time to catch up with his wife. He looked over at his wife. "Now, where were we?"

"I think you and I were-" She never finished, as Danny grabbed her and kissed her passionately. She moaned in pleasure and wrapped her arms around his neck. Never in her life had Zainabu been this happy over the past year. Neither of them wanted the kiss to end, but a need for air forced them to break the kiss. She stared into his light brown eyes. "I'd say that's about where we left off. But something tells me this wasn't the only thing you had planned."

Her husband shook his head. "Nope. We're going to go for a ride around the Pride Lands, and stop by my family's grave to pay respects to them. It's almost been an exact year since I had set up those graves and it wouldn't do to not pay a visit."

"I'm fine with that," Zainabu said. "I say we should get going soon. The bike's down at the base of Pride Rock."

"Alright, then." Danny got up and began walking towards the slope heading for the bottom. "I think we should head towards the waterfall…" His statement trailed off when he looked back at Zainabu. Her eyes and face were locked at something inside the cave, and he could see her eyes welling up a bit. He followed her gaze to see a still-young Kopa playing around with his older brother, Tanabi. It was then that Danny realized what was the matter.

One of the issues he and Zainabu had to deal with about both being a hybrid and triumvirate was that they were unable to have children. They had tried for a year and still had no signs of her being pregnant. It left them with the possibility of not having kids. Zainabu was technically eleven years old, though her lioness side looked like she was three and her current form as a woman made her look a year or two younger than Danny. She had always wanted to have cubs, but never had the chance, and this was the closest she had come.

Danny closed his eyes for a moment. _Lord, give me the words to Zee._ He wrapped her up in a hug, trying to offer her some physical comfort. He was surprised at how tightly she held onto him. "I know how much you want to be a mother, Zee. I want to be one too."

She looked up and giggled a little bit. "You want to be a mother too?" Her eyes were gleaming now.

_Crap. I set myself up for that one._ "No, no. A parent…you know what I mean." He could feel his cheeks burning from embarrassment.

"I knew what you meant, honey. I just felt like teasing you."

Danny grinned a little before returning to a serious expression and tone. "All I'm saying, Zee, is that we keep our faith in the Lord. We should be dead based on what happened last year, and we have Him to be thankful for." He looked her straight in the eyes. "But even if the Lord doesn't give us children, will you still love Him?"

Zainabu didn't respond in words. She just placed her head under his chin and held him tightly. She really didn't want to answer that question, but she knew it would have to be answered. After all, Danny was right. Both of them should be dead right now.

While he didn't hear any words from her, he could tell by the way her head was moving under his chin, that she was nodding in response to his question. He tilted her head up and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, Zee."

"I love you too, Danny."

Danny grabbed her hand and gently pulled her along. "Come on. Let's go for a ride and see the sights."

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><p>The ride was very quiet between them, but that was mainly because of the fact that they were on a speeder bike and the wind made it very hard for them to talk. Both Danny and Zainabu took in the sights and marveled at the beautiful land the Creator had made. It was a vibrant array of colors that captured their eyes. They had seen it every day, but it never got old. There would always be something new among the lands.<p>

One thing that stayed the same, in Danny's eyes, was the small cemetery of his family and the acacia tree where his ship crashed and started a whole new adventure. They stopped to pay their respects to the Manning family. Zainabu was disappointed that she never met any of his family. If they were anything like Danny, they would've been great people to get to know.

Danny dropped down on one knee in front of the four headstones. The memories were still fresh in his mind, and he had to fight to keep the tears from running down his face. "Hey, guys. Just thought I'd pay you a visit here. I know the four of you are doing very well, given the place you're all in. I never thought I'd be twenty-six and doing this, but at least I was prepared."

He looked over at the left-most headstone: his father's. The dog tags were still hanging around the headstone, with the tape recorder still in its place. "I've got you to thank for that, Dad." Danny laughed lightly. "I remember how much you hated being called Pops. If only I could do that one more time, just to get your clock ticking. Maybe when I see you again, I'll do it again. Thankfully, I won't have to worry about dying then."

Danny stood up and looked at all four graves. "I miss you, guys. I know you're watching me from above, and that you're in a better place, with the Lord for eternity. I guess a goodbye isn't right, so I'll see y'all later," he finished in a mock-cowboy tone.

Both he and Zainabu turned around and headed back for the speeder bike. Zainabu held Danny's arm. Danny was grateful for her comfort and presence. It would be a totally different story if he didn't have her; he would probably be an empty shell. They both came to the bike and Zainabu sat down on the seat. Danny remained standing.

For awhile, neither of them spoke. Eventually, Zainabu broke the silence. "What do you want to do after this?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"If/when we win this war, what do you plan to do after this?"

That was a question he wasn't expecting, and one he didn't take the time to think about because of everything that had been happening the last eight years. He had planned to leave once he found his family, but now things were different. He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I hope I'm not disappointing you if I say I don't plan on being a king again unless under an emergency."

"That's okay. While I did like being a queen for a couple of months, I didn't really care much for having that title. I just wanted to be part of the pride."

"Join the club," he said, using one of his "human" sayings that everyone had grown accustomed to. "I never had ambitions for leadership, but I'll step up if I have to. At first, I just wanted to contribute in some way. Hunting was one such way. I have entertained the idea of being a sentinel. I think I'd do a good job at fighting and patrolling, so I know my talents can be used there. I also like playing with the cubs, so I could keep them occupied and babysit them while everyone does something else."

Zainabu swiveled her body to face Danny. "Being a sentinel would definitely be a good idea. As long as you are around with the other males, no rogue would dare enter these lands."

"This is true," Danny thought about something else. "But I have to admit, I have had moments where I wish I was back home."

She looked confused. "But you are home."

He laughed. "No, I meant home where other humans are. I love being here, no question. But there are times where I do wish I was back home, doing some things I loved to do that I can't here."

"Like what?"

"Snowboarding, drag races, and football, just to name a few." He noticed her confused look. "If we ever get a chance to go back to my dimension of Earth, you'll see what I mean."

Zainabu played with the idea of returning to his world and seeing what it was like. "Everything you've told me about your world, it all seems so intriguing and interesting. I just may take you up on that opportunity, if it ever arises."

"Yeah, well the first thing we need to worry about is finishing this war and keeping stability in this kingdom. I'm hoping that we can end this in two weeks, when I meet with Dasyu."

"I'm really concerned about that, Danny. This could be a trap and you could get killed."

"It could be, but I trust our guys. They won't let me down and we'll be prepared for anything. He wouldn't be able to conduct a full-scale assault on me. We're on an island in the middle of a big lake."

"But can't you send one of the others, like Haraka or Tupac? They could talk for you." She was now pleading with him.

Danny shook his head. "I have to do it. It wouldn't be very brave or honorable if I didn't show up to meet him face-to-face. These are the risks of war."

"Yes, but it seems like an unnecessary one." She wrapped her arms and rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to lose you again, Danny. The day you left us broke my heart, and I'm not sure if I could recover from losing you to this."

"But wouldn't the risk be worth it if we do manage to reach a settlement with Dasyu? I don't like him any more than you do, but it wouldn't be right to not offer a chance for him to change and leave this place for good. We'll also end this war and have peace again, the first real peace since when I first arrived, when there was nothing to cause us to look over our shoulders, so to speak."

Zainabu knew he was right, and he did have a point. He also understood her concerns. If the roles were reversed, he would be hesitant to let her face Dasyu one-on-one. But she was every loyal and faithful to her husband, and if this was what needed to be done, she would support him. "I don't like it, Danny. However, if this is the best decision for us, then I'm going to support you and respect your choice, 100% and beyond."

Hearing that made the world to him, knowing that no matter what, he'd had her love, respect, and support. He kissed her lightly on the lips and gave her one of the most genuine smiles he had. "Thank you, Zee. I love bragging on you to the other guys so much, and this is one of the many reasons why. You are the best wife anyone could ask for." He saw her smile widen and her eyes seemed to glow. She loved hearing that from him.

She glanced behind Danny and back to his face again. "Let's get back to Pride Rock. I'm starting to feel hungry."

"Your wish is my command, _madam._"

* * *

><p><strong>Here is the fourth, and where I'll begin posting on a monthly basis and an unknown rate of chapters. I'll try not to keep you all hanging on the edge of your seats like I did with HoaC and all its cliffhangers. I'm out!<strong>


	5. R&R?

**Okay, how do I say this? I really don't know how to express my apologies for keeping y'all at bay for the last few months. Between writer's block, school, military, and moving from West Coast back to East coast, I really haven't had much time nor focus to keep working. Thankfully, with less obstacles in my path, I may be able to resume the pace I had with HoaC when I first started, so be ready for multiple chapters. Again, my apologies for the delay. Also, I'd like to ask that you check out my sister's fanfiction profile. She's just started and would like to hear from a few more people. Her first story is on Tears of the Sun, so if that's a movie you liked, check it out. Her profile is AlphaWarrior213. Anyways, enjoy my latest chapter in my TLK trilogy!**

* * *

><p>It wasn't a particularly busy day for the Specters, but Dasyu was an exception. As the leader, he had many objectives to accomplish and projects to oversee. The main priority for the day was his oldest project. Today was supposed to be the day where it was scheduled to be completed, but in the department of research and development, that was never a sure thing. Experiments and projects were bound to go wrong, new problems were likely to arise among the studying and creating, and added resources were always needed. All of these contributed to delays in completion dates.<p>

_Just once, I'd like to see something completed on time in this department, _he thought. He was never a patient being, and his ruthless ways only added to the pressure of those under his command. But in his mind, pressure and fear of consequences made for good motivators.

Of course, his projects weren't the only issues on his mind. General Xev had brought up an interesting plan for the future, and told her to begin organizing an attack force. The rebel General Preliator didn't know it, but he had given Dasyu more than enough time to regroup and reorganize his next phases of the war and put them into motion. Talon had been keeping track for enemy movement and Malachi had been training the sniper teams and briefing them on their set up for the meeting between Dasyu and Preliator. If things went to plan, Preliator wouldn't be leaving that island.

Dasyu passed the hangar bay using the upper catwalk. The few dozen Blades they had left were all neatly arranged and remained suspended above the floor from the docking brackets that held them in place. It didn't bother him too much that he only had a few left at his disposal. Even now, dozens of aero-drones were being produced to take their place without the risk of lost personnel. Tank drones also made up for a decent portion of lost Titan tanks. Had Facility Two not been destroyed, he may have already expanded and added a fourth facility or even a fifth.

He passed through the cylindrical tunnel carved out of the mountain his fortress resided in. Only a hundred yards away was his destination, and hopefully some positive answers.

As he neared the research and development sector of the facility, the guards on duty straightened to attention. One of them held out a scanner pad. "Here you are, sir."

Dasyu took the pad and scanned his badge to indicate the time and date he had signed in. Even though he was the leader, even he had regulations to obey. It served as an example to others. If others saw him doing it, they had no excuse either. That did not mean, however, that he grew tired of it. That was one thing he might seek to change for himself and his higher ranking officers.

He passed the guards and entered through the black, metal doors. Inside, the whole department was buzzing with subtle, but active noise. Scientists were everywhere, all doing something and most of them were at data terminals. None of them had noticed Dasyu come in. They were too busy with their work. It didn't upset him. He respected them too much for their hard work to have them interrupt themselves during their duty just to pay him some respect. Maybe when this war was behind them, he would step it up. For now, he left them to their work.

As he observed them, he noticed the liquid tanks all around. Inside, contained in the jelly-like substance, were a variety of forms. The first few were simple robot forms, stripped of clothing with wires dangling in suspension from their limbs. Their eyes were dark, an indication that they were offline.

After the first few tanks, he saw some differences. The once purely robotic forms were now encased in some sort of shell. Dasyu could not see a single feature on them, only that they were curled up in suspended animation. It was obvious that they were in the middle of Phase Two of his pet project. _This better be worth all of my time and effort. We need every advantage possible, including against the beasts of this world. And I can't be spending all of my munitions and supplies on animals._

Dasyu walked to his chief scientist, Torran. He was busy near the subjects at the end of the project cycle, Phase Three. Torran was just like any other Specter: an advanced machine with a creative personality. Dasyu's dead nemesis, Daniel Manning, would call the Specters personalities "human", but the metal composition of their bodies said otherwise. Torran was discussing with the other scientists about the results of the project.

"So, Torran. I trust you have some good news for me on my project?"

Torran stiffened for a moment as the other scientists dispersed to resume their work. The scientist turned around, his white armor gleaming. "Yes, my lord. Your first project, as you know, had some setbacks we didn't see."

Dasyu's expression dulled. "I'm aware of that. Those setbacks put us behind schedule."

"Having to start from scratch since the destruction of Facility Two, setbacks are a normal part of science, even if they were already discovered in the past, sir." Torran's tone wavered at the end of his statement of the facts.

Normally, others would be punished for their frank audacity with Dasyu. But even the Specter leader learned the advantages of patience a long time ago. He allowed the scientist and some of the higher ranking officers under his command some leeway when it came to their thoughts, but even that leash was kept short for them. "I understand that, Torran. What I _now_ want to know is the current status of the project?"

Torran looked over his sci-pad, a science version of a datapad, which showed a bunch of data Dasyu cared little about, except for the bottom line. "Well, we've had several fatalities during our trials in Phase One and Two," he waved to his left. In the corner a few dozen bodies, some looking horribly mutilated and mangled, had been tossed on top of each other. Torran heard Dasyu groan in frustration, but knew he had to give the bad news first. "However, the good news is that we figured out the problem. We were able to match the correct scanning frequency with the appropriate replication rate. The overall time process from insertion to replication is now about three or four hours depending on how many Specters per day."

Dasyu's eyes lit up in hopeful anticipation. "Sounds like you've come a long way with this."

"We have, sir. The bottom line is this: in about a week, we will be able to put this project into full speed. All Specters will be given an alternative form for disguise among animals. We'll still need some time to examine the soldiers who have successfully completed Phase Three. The last thing we need is another unexpected complication that could affect all of our troops, if we were to begin now."

"That's fine," Dasyu replied, surprising even him to remain so calm. "At least it's a starting point. Once we go through the portal where the family of humans originated, we can capture a human for study and implement human forms for alternative forms." He pulled up his datapad. On the screen, it showed General Preliator. "But first, we've got a loose end to tie up."

"I wouldn't even call him a loose end, sir," Torran said arrogantly. "He's just a small pebble in our path. I doubt he even has-"

"Torran, do you know why you were never considered to be a military commander?"

Dasyu's question caught him off-guard. "Uh…no, sir."

"That's because you look at any opposing force underneath the size of an army as insignificant. Have you not forgotten how we learned the hard way about one, single human?"

The destruction of Facilities One and Two caused Torran to stop his thoughts and think hard about what Dasyu said. His words stung, but they had a ring of truth to them. A sheepish reply came out. "I understand, sir."

"This General Preliator has more under his command than Daniel Manning ever did. Do you think we can afford to take his attacks lightly?" He was glad Torran didn't respond, because it was a rhetorical question. Dasyu decided to change the subject. "How about the cloning project? What news of that?"

Torran winced. "We're having a lot more difficulty with that, sir. It would be a lot easier if we could capture one of Preliator's lieutenants. The video and audio feeds we get are…marginal, at best."

Now, Dasyu's frustration returned. This time, he wasn't able to keep it out of his voice. "You leave that part to me and my Generals. Your job is to get this cloning process perfected. So until I get some of them, work with what you got and get me some results."

Dasyu turned around to observe the Phase Three subjects. He wanted one last inspection before heading out. "I've got to leave. I have some other business to attend to around the facility." He cast a glance back at the chief scientist. "You've done well regarding my first project, Torran. However, these constant setbacks aren't filling me with confidence in you, despite your achievements." He voice then became ice cold. "Take my advice as motivation: no one is irreplaceable."

The scientist suppressed a shiver as Dasyu walked off. He didn't bottle up an exasperated sigh. _Dasyu, you want the impossible with me. If you kill me, you'll find things will go even slower._ He glanced at all the other scientists, who were looking at him expectantly. "You know what to do. Give me half of each team to meet with me. They're going to go to work on the next project."

As the scientists began gathering and discussing who to leave the teams, Torran wondered just how efficient and quick he could be at this next project. He didn't want to end up like the victims of the previous facilities.

* * *

><p>"Alright, 'Pac. Your stop is coming up. Get ready for a quick stop-and-go."<p>

"Heh…since when is a stop-and-go _not _quick?" Tupac, now back in his original form, was ready to spend some time with his family. It had been a rough year for him. His father, the late King Jabari, had passed away a year ago. About two months later, his mother Alijiah had joined him in the next life. What he needed right now was some time to be with the last family he had left. Some rest and relaxation with no disturbances guaranteed had come at the perfect moment, and Tupac was going to enjoy every second of it.

The _**Paratus Preliator **_hovered a foot above the ground, which happened to be the beach. Sand kicked up everywhere around him. He quickly got off and ran with his eyes closed for a few seconds to keep the sand from getting into them. When he opened his eyes, he turned to watch the ship as it began to lift off and pick up speed. He kept his eyes on the ship until it disappeared from sight, in the direction of Malka's kingdom.

He smiled. "Take care, guys. Y'all have a good time." He turned around and began walking to the jungle line. "Now, where are those guys?"

It had been peaceful, mostly unscathed during the war. He had hoped that the war would be over before it ever reached ten miles of the Shore Lands' borders. The people were as lively as ever, and it seemed that no outside force would disturb them. They were aware of the war, and enjoyed hearing the news Tupac brought to them. He tried to keep it mild for the children who wanted to hear of his "adventures." He was just glad they never pressed him for more information. _If they ever found out some of the things I've seen this past year, I don't think they would ever have a normal childhood. _

Then again, he never had a typical childhood himself. He had met a human, though if it weren't for that particular human, he'd never have been born. Next had come the loss of his father. Before he knew it, he was on a quest to rescue Danny's pride members, got killed, came back to life as a hybrid lion-transformer and locked into a war for their lives.

"Yep, my life is anything but normal," he said out loud.

As he walked, he looked over at a small herd of zebra. They were simply grazing in the fields, minding their own business. Tupac envied them for their peace and ease of mind. The last year had all but destroyed his own peace, but he was living up to his name of "warrior." He was calm in battle and fought with honor. But all warriors came at a price to themselves, but it was worth it in the long run.

A shift of dirt caused his ears to turn to his right. It came from the jungle line. Immediately, his senses went on red alert. If it was one of his pride members, they would've shown themselves. Tupac groaned. _Just what I need. I get out of one conflict and end up stuck in another._ He narrowed his eyes and took a sniff. From the alien smells in combat, he had lost some touch in his natural senses. Tupac quickly traced the scent, and began to recognize who it might be.

"Slowly turn."

He suppressed the urge to flinch. The voice was a dead giveaway, but he was surprised that it came from behind him and not at the jungle line where he heard the suspicious noise. _Maybe I am losing my lion senses. _"Even though my back is turned to you, I know you're smiling, Kashore."

His sister lifted herself up from the grass she had hid in. "What makes you think that?"

Tupac rolled his eyes. "Gee, let's see. Well, for one, I can always ask Amiri because he's most likely nearby, as is the rest of the pride. Two, who grew up with you your whole life? I know you better than you think, sis. You've always been the joker, and can never keep a straight face when you're joking around."

Kashore's face darkened. "You suck, Tupac."

That's when he laughed. He turned around. "It's nice to see you too."

Amiri and the rest of the pride revealed themselves from the concealment of the wooded vegetation. Each and every one of their smiles brought Tupac's mood to great ease. It was almost as if the war was over. Almost. Amiri walked forward and bumped heads with Tupac. "The feeling's mutual, brother. How is everything?"

"As good as anything right now," came the sheepish reply Tupac gave to his brother. "The war is not as bad as it could be, but we're facing a lack of resources and no end in sight. We're looking at alternatives right now."

Amiri arched an eyebrow. "Such as?"

Tupac scratched his ear. "Danny is going to meet with Dasyu to peacefully ask that he leave Earth for good. I'm not a big fan of it, but if it works, then the war will be over and we will be at peace."

"That's good news. Then you can be back here with us more often."

The tone in Amiri's voice suggested to Tupac that he wasn't too relieved if this plan worked, almost nonchalant. It was sort of understandable because the war hadn't reached the Shore Lands. But if the war did stretch out to here, then perspectives would be different. Tupac shrugged it off. "I would definitely have no arguments there. Danny's pride would feel it the most because they've been the most conflict-weary the last eight years."

"Yes, I remember Father's stories about what went on there, as well as Danny's recounting. I do sympathize with them, but by no means wish to share that same burden."

"None of us do, Amiri," Tupac said, sounding very tired all of a sudden. The constant activity and stress from the war was beginning to take its toll on the young lion, but he knew he could handle it. "Have you had any border troubles?"

"We've had a few rogues here and there, but nothing serious. Most have come from the western borders, but none from the eastern borders. Maybe they get scared when they see Danny's ship coming to drop you off."

Kashore smirked. "Funny, because my conclusion was that it was Tupac's scent that drives them off."

"You saying that I stink?" Tupac asked.

"Let me put it this way, you make a warthog smell heavenly." A couple of lionesses giggled at the remark.

Tupac looked at his sister. "I'll see you by the creek tomorrow, sis. I just hope your jokes are as good as your fighting skills." A couple of "oohs" soon followed.

"Looking forward to it," Kashore said confidently.

This was nothing new to them nor was it new to the pride. Ever since they were cubs, Kashore and Tupac were ultra-competitive. They would always try to best each other in everything they could do. While Kashore was, by far, the better hunter of the two, Tupac was a better fighter. Part of that was because he was a male, but also because of his time as a Preliator, he had learned new fighting techniques. As competitive as they were, they would offer the other tips to improve their weaknesses, mainly because they would be seeking new challenges.

"As amusing as this is," Amiri began. "I think we should relax and enjoy our meal tonight. Besides, Tupac has been hard at work without rest and could use the time off. Please save the questions for another day, people."

"Yes, sire," came the response of multiple lionesses, not all in sync.

The pride headed for the welcoming shade of trees that gave a reprieve from the sweltering heat, where an even more welcoming carcass awaited for them to feast on. Tupac smiled as he fell in step next to his brother and his sister. The two brothers held back a little while Kashore and the other lionesses headed to where their meal was waiting for them. They wanted to have a personal talk, brother-to-brother.

Amiri kept his tone hushed. "Okay, 'Pac. Just between you and me for the moment, do you think the war will actually make it here to our lands?"

"Honestly, I don't know. If things stay the way they are, then it probably won't reach here. But that's a big, big _if_."

"Do you think we should plan for a proper defense of the Shore Lands?"

"I think it would be foolish _not _to do that. Dasyu's Specters have been here before, so it is a location they probably still have stored somewhere. I would say that we prepare our pride and anyone else who would be considered a predator for a tactical defense. However, if necessary, they might be best served as decoys while the people evacuate to Malka's Mountain Lands."

Amiri seemed to balk at that idea, or at least his frown said that. "I'm not sure we'll need to go that far, bro. That's a huge movement for us."

"Amiri, I've seen the power of the enemy, up close and dangerous. If we attack them head on, we'll get slaughtered. Imagine a bunch of beings with weapons like Danny's, all trying to kill you. We'll be dead before we can even get our claws and teeth into them."

The barely older lion simply nodded. "Alright, I get your point. I'll be sure to round up those I can find and prepare them as best as possible. By the way, you ever get tired of fighting?"

That question seemed stupid to Tupac, but he simply sighed. "I've seen enough fighting for a lifetime. I am super tired of it. But as long as the enemy still threatens our peace and our friends, I shall face them until we succeed or die trying."

A chuckle escaped the king's throat. "You need to find yourself a mate, Tupac."

Tupac threw a wry glance, but let out a snort. "You're one to talk. What about you?"

"As the king, I'm too busy. You don't have to deal with the kingdom like I do."

"That's because I'm at war. You're not presenting a strong defense on this subject. A queen can always help you out on matters like this when it becomes too much for you. It's a wonder none of the lionesses our age have thrown themselves on you yet. I'm the one whose too busy to find a mate."

Amiri smirked. "Or maybe you do smell real bad like Kashore said and you're trying to cover it with the war excuse."

"Whatever."

This was the good, 'ol conversation between the brothers of the Shore Land Pride. They would always start serious with the usual business, and end with the usual verbal jabs at each other. Thankfully, it never got old to Tupac and it helped him adjust back to life in the Shore Lands. It was good to be home with his blood family again.

* * *

><p>Malka made his way through the tall grass. It had been ten minutes since he had been dropped off on the edge of the mountain valley that was his kingdom. He needed to stretch his legs, so he had asked Danny to drop him off on the outskirts of the Mountain Lands. Since the sun was at its highest point in the sky, the pride was most likely relaxing in the shade by the river veined its way through the mountains.<p>

Just to make sure, he let out a loud roar followed by some spurts. Shortly after, he received the friendly confirmation of his pride in the direction he was heading. They were at the lake, no doubt about it. He smiled as he suddenly realized how thirsty he was. "Good thing we got plenty of water to drink."

He thought of the possibility of there being no water. _That would suck. Talk about putting a huge crimp in my day if that was reality._

The orange-furred king made his way closer to his destination. Far off in the distance, he could pick up their scent. It was growing stronger with every few steps he made. Shortly after, he could see the river up ahead. He couldn't quite see the lionesses, but that would change in a few minutes. Malka smirked. He was sure his kids would try to get the drop on him, and now that they were full adults, they had plenty of practice to sharpen their skills.

He saw something move in the distance. Squinting his eyes, he started to make out the bodies of movement as his pride. Malka took two steps before abruptly stopping in midstep. He was sure he had heard movement a lot closer to him. The movement got really loud, and he instinctively ducked. A paw brushed his back as the attacker sailed overhead. Malka turned to face his opponent, but felt a large amount of weight land on his back.

He turned to move the second attacker over his back, but she held on. Malka then felt a quick bite on the back of his neck and then the weight of the attacker left as she jumped off. "Ha, I got you."

Malka smiled as he turned to his daughter. "Come on, no fair. It was two against one, Ayanna."

Ayanna feigned surprise. "Oh, the great king Malka gets overpowered by his two daughters. That would be the talk of the kingdom, daddy."

"Besides, if you dodged both of us, it would soon be three-on-one because Lela was next," that was Nia, who attacked Malka first. "You're getting soft in your old age, dad."

The next response came from Malka's only son, Kota. "That's why I'm set to succeed Father when he decides to transfer the responsibilities of a king, and not any of you three. You goof around too much." He came from the front, with his mother and Malka's mate Tama, right behind him.

Malka smiled at how well he had raised his son. He was definitely ready to become king of the Mountain Pride, but he could use some pointers from his sisters on relaxing and joking around every once in a while. He turned to Nia and smirked at her. "I may be old, but I'm one of those rare lions who get better with age. Wisdom and patience come as a bonus."

Kota raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you can take me on in a fight? Is that what you're saying, Dad?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Malka said, still maintaining his smug expression. "What I know for sure, is that it won't be right now. I've had enough battling for awhile."

"It would be nice if you were around a little more, though." There was tightness in Kota's voice, but the main emotion stemming from that was from hurt.

Malka slowly nodded. "We'll see. The sooner the war is over, the better off we'll all be."

Tama came up and nuzzled her mate. "It's good to see you again, dear. A few weeks can seem like an eternity for us when you're gone."

_That makes two of us, Tama. _"The feeling's mutual." War could make things go by so slowly, and yet it can make one older than they really are in the blink of an eye, so to speak. "Just for now, let's enjoy the time we have together right now."

* * *

><p>The Mountain Pride sat in the shade, treating the coolness as a short but pleasant luxury. Malka listened to his son on what was going on with the people. There were a few more border issues than the previous time Malka returned from the war, but Kota more than held his ground. Malka was very proud of him. The lionesses were performing well in the hunts, though Ayanna some of the other young lionesses were getting sloppy. Malka suggested a rotation of hunting groups to optimize their hunting skills, believing it was just a matter of stronger skill sets in the wrong places.<p>

The pride then decided to take a nice, long cat-nap. Only Malka and Tama remained awake, and they were walking around the lands. Tama had asked her mate to take a walk with him. She had a lot on her mind, but she wasn't sure where to start. This led to an awkward silence, though it didn't bother Malka, not at first.

"So…." Tama started.

_So…is this quality time or will it be another interrogation?_ "So…how've you been the last few weeks?"

His mate let a small smile appear. Tama was glad Malka broke the ice to the conversation. "It's been okay. I've been taking Kota with me and he's been watching me on what a ruler needs to do in the routine rounds in the morning. So far, he's taking it well."

"That's excellent," Malka said. "It sounds as though he's almost ready to assume the throne."

Now, Tama felt like it was the right time to bring the subject up. "Maybe, but what you probably are seeing is a tough front put on by your son."

Malka frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that you should spend some time with him for the amount of time you're staying for. Your children have hardly seen you for a year and it's taking a toll on them."

The king of the Mountain Pride closed his eyes. He knew where this was going, and how it would end up. This was the umpteenth time Tama has brought this up, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Unfortunately, he forgot to hide it in his tone. "In case you haven't noticed, Tama, we're at war. It's not like I can just say 'Hey, Danny. I'm going to take a break because I want to spend some time with my family. Work around it.'"

"No! That's not your war, Malka. It's Danny's war. He's the one who has the problem with…whatever his name is." She couldn't remember Dasyu's name, and frankly, she didn't care.

"It's Dasyu. And yes, it isn't _my _war. It's _our _war. Dasyu is hell-bent on destroying anything and everything in his path. If we don't stop him, then we're all dead, sooner or later. I should be dead after I went on that rescue mission to save Danny's pride members. The same ones you were born in!"

The fire in her eyes was now evident, but her voice was a mix of anger and pleading. "You should never have gone out there in the first place. Danny had handled it just fine."

"If he did, we wouldn't have died and come back as _these_." Malka transformed into his robot form. Tama was used to it by now, but it didn't necessarily mean she liked it. He morphed back into a lion, staring intently into her eyes. "Besides, I owed Danny a few for what he did for me, for us. I would still have been Dasyu's prisoner as a cub and we would never have met."

Tama just gave up, and broke down crying. Malka realized that he'd gone a little too far, and moved to comfort her. He brushed his mane against her tear-stained face, which helped muffle the crying a little. When she finally did speak, it was clearly cracked and uneven. "I just want you back, dear. We've all missed you so much and we want to spend some time with you."

"I want all of that, too. But until this war is over, they need me, just like this kingdom needs us. It's hard for both of us to run the kingdom now that we have to deal with conflicts on two separate fronts, but with the Creator's help, we can do it."

Tama regained some of her voice. "Okay, but you do need to spend time with them while you're here, and I mean all of it. Your children need their father and this war is getting in the way of that."

Malka sighed. He _did _plan to spend some time with his kids, and even though they were adults, the lack of a father around the kingdom was evident. However, he did have to leave at some point to meet with Danny and the others next week to plan for the meeting with Dasyu. Of course, not being able to be around his kids was an issue. They had lost so much time with their father, and Kota definitely didn't seem as confident of himself when he gave Malka the report, unlike the way he had been before the war had started. Lela, Nia, and Ayanna also fell into that category.

He slowly wondered what would happen if this war dragged on too long. Kota would have to assume the throne much sooner than he would be expected, and might crumble under the immense pressure. He still had a lot to learn, and Malka wasn't around to teach him that as much. Kota might lose his composure and talk back to Malka, or even worse, just run away when the opportunity came. Malka hoped it would never come to that, but if this war went on for a largely extended period of time, then that scenario would grow likelier by the day.

"Alright, I'll spend time with them, Tama."

At last, she finally smiled again. "Thank you, Malka."

"You know, I couldn't have done it without you, sweetheart. With everything that's going on, you've really kept the kingdom in working order."

"That's because I have such a wonderful mate to lead these lands. What do you plan to do with your children?"

Malka gave her a devious grin. "Well, for one, I plan to tussle with all four of them. Then I'll help out Kota with handling the kingly duties, which should give you some time to sharpen our daughters' hunting skills."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Next week, I do have a meeting with Danny. I'll have to leave for the day, but it's only for the day."

"No, Malka. Please spend the time you have here with your family." The pleading in her voice was growing more desperate.

"This is something that could end the war. I have to-"

Tama placed a paw on his shoulder. The wetness in her eyes suggested she would break down crying again. He couldn't bear much more of that. "Please, Malka. Is it that important?"

Malka thought it over. This was an important meeting regarding the war. If it went right, then the war would be over in two weeks. However, he was second in the chain of command and Danny could relay the plan to him when he came back to pick them all up. Danny was reasonable, and this sort of situation might be enough for Danny to let it slide this time.

He nodded. "Alright, I'll stay. But I will still have to let Danny know that I won't be coming for the meeting, just so that he knows ahead of time."

Tama looked back up into his eyes, her own glimmering in the daylight. "Thank you, Malka." She nuzzled him as the two enjoyed their private moment together. Those moments were rare with the war going on, but they were treasured ones. The king and queen just hoped that they wouldn't end permanently.

* * *

><p>The Pride Lands were overjoyed to see their warriors return home safely. Many had come to ask them about how the war was going and what their own personal war stories were. Most of the Preliators had given everyone who asked the details of their personal accounts and viewpoints in battle, though Tojo and Haraka tended to exaggerate on more than one occasion. Danny, being the General, had chosen to be as discreet as possible when it came to the shortcomings. However, that didn't mean he didn't keep it realistic. He did do a wonderful job at keeping the people inspired. The progress they had made in ensuring peace was more than enough to keep everyone in the Pride Lands happy. Though many pleaded for Danny to return as co-king, he simply stated that he only reigned in order to help create and solidify internal stability from the mess that Scar created.<p>

The next few days were relaxing for the Preliators, and most of the time was spent with family. Danny had to refill the tetherball so that the cubs could play with it. The long-standing memento of the human's tribute of his culture had seemed make a resilient stand against the years of hardship the rest of the Pride Lands had suffered through. It definitely kept the cubs happy, as they enjoyed playing with it whenever they wanted.

Once that was finished, he walked up the long slope to the cave of Pride Rock. He had called all of the Preliators from their families to meet and figure out a plan of action for their upcoming negotiation meeting with Dasyu. Zainabu, Tojo, Mheetu, Chumvi, Tupac, and Haraka assembled in a horseshoe formation, with the opening facing the entrance/exit of the cave. Nala was also present, but stood by the wall. Since Simba was taking Kiara and Kovu around the Pride Lands, someone in the royalty had to attend and address it to the rest of the family.

Danny motioned for them to sit on the ground and relax. He didn't want them standing during the whole time. "Glad you guys were able to break away from your families and meet with me. Nala, I'm glad you were able to come as well."

The queen smiled. "It's no problem. I'm just hoping I'll understand it as best as I can."

"I have no doubt of that." He turned to the rest. From his pants pocket, he pulled out a heavily folded map. He opened it up and set it down in front of them to see. "Alright, let's begin. Malka won't be here because of some issues in his lands, but he knows what's going on in this meeting. Bren's running a little late, so I'll fill him in on the details when he comes."

"It would be better off if he didn't come at all," Tojo said, bitterly.

Danny closed his eyes to prevent anyone from seeing his eyes roll. "Tojo, I understand your feelings about him. However, this is a briefing for a plan of action. Keep the personal comments to yourself."

Tojo, surprised at the rising tone of Danny's voice, stiffened at the reprimand. "Yes, sir."

Danny returned to the subject. "We all know that we're meeting with Dasyu on an island of the largest lake on the map. The island is little more than a sandbar sticking out of the body of water. There is no cover there, so both of us are easy targets. I trust Dasyu will show up. I _don't _trust him to honor his end of the bargain and not try to take me out. It wouldn't surprise me if he'll have some sniper teams set in order to take me out if things go sour."

"What's the likelihood of that?" Zainabu asked.

"All but guaranteed to happen, Zee. I do want to give Dasyu the chance to admit defeat and leave this planet, which would save us the trouble of risking any more lives. However, I'm not sure he'll agree to that."

"So then why bother meeting with him?" Haraka asked.

"Because we need to explore that option, and I have to make sure it doesn't appear to be from a position of weakness." He looked at the sniper and spotter of the group. "Mheetu and Tojo, you will be charged with the task of counter-sniper warfare. I don't want anyone to shoot Dasyu. One, we're going to honor our agreement. Two, by shooting any snipers he has will give him the impression of strength from his opponent. You will both be in charge of picking a few counter-sniper teams."

They groaned.

Their attitude towards their allies was beginning to seriously annoy Danny. He narrowed his eyes. "Do you want this war to end? Do you want Bren and the others gone as well?"

"Yes." Their answer was stern.

"Then stop groaning and just answer me!" The heat in his voice caused them both to flinch. He brought it down to a calmer level. "After this meeting, I want to see you two on the summit." He had had enough of their childish attitudes about Bren and the other ex-Specters. He needed to put an end to it now. If they kept this up, the unity holding the Preliators together would break apart. At this stage in the war, this was the worst, possible time for it to happen.

Chumvi helped move the meeting along. "So we set up sniper teams, but what about armor and air support?"

"The lake is surrounded by heavy forests. You'd need special vehicles and equipment just to clear a path for a tank to have a clear shot, and we'll see that coming a mile off. For air support, you and Bren will be hiding this clearing." Danny pointed to an opening in the forest a half-mile south-southeast of the island. "You need to choose two more pilots as wingmen. If I need you, I'll signal you with a transponder. I'm sure we got one in a supply room back at the base."

"What about the rest of us?" Zainabu asked.

Danny smiled at her. "Babe, you're gonna take Haraka, Tupac, and Malka with you on the _**Paratus Preliator**_. If I need an emergency pickup or when the meeting is over, then I will need to call you. You may also be needed for additional air support if things get too much for Bren and Chumvi."

"Sounds good to me," Tupac said.

"Same here, as long as I get to shoot something," Haraka added in.

"Nice to always know you never change, buddy." Danny turned to Zainabu. "You okay with this, Zee?"

"Yes, now that I'm near you again." Her beaming, green-eyed smile melted his heart.

A light, droning noise was heard growing louder and louder. Danny turned to look outside the cave. A lone Blade was coming in for a landing on the summit. He nodded. "That's Bren. I'll fill him in on the details. You guys have any questions for me?"

There was a long silence before a hand raised. Haraka's hand. Everyone braced for a sardonic question he was bound to have. "Yeah, I have a question, now that I think of it. Why am I now being placed in the ship? I thought you wanted me to be your bodyguard. Unless you've adopted the loner personality, all of a sudden…"

That had slipped Danny's mind. He forgot about that initial plan. He could spare Haraka from the ship. "Oh, yeah. That's right, Haraka. Thanks for reminding me. You will join me on the island, but given your character, more as my comedian to put on a show for us rather than my bodyguard."

The others laughed at the joke. Haraka crossed his arms. "Thank you, it's nice to be noticed for my hard work."

Danny turned to see Bren rounding the corner. "Stay here, guys." He left them there and walked to the egress of the cave. Bren saw him and walked his way. "Hey, Bren. You just missed the meeting. I thought you were the punctual-"

He stopped when Bren pulled out a pistol and aimed at Danny's chest. Danny acted surprised and raised his arms, smiling at him. "Hey, whoa. You know, you can put an eye out if you're not careful."

Bren didn't move. He didn't even say anything to Danny. The only thing that changed was his expression. Bren went from an expressionless face to a smile. It wasn't a normal smile. It was a very uncharacteristic smile on his face, and the look in his eyes also seemed…off. They seemed to be full of intensity, animosity, and intent, like a predator finding its prey cornered and confused.

Danny's smile faded and his expression showed total confusion. "Bren?"

A loud boom thundered in Danny's ears, but the pain he felt in his eardrums paled in comparison to the new pain expanding in his chest. He grunted in pain and fell to the ground, clutching at the hole in his chest. He withdrew his hand and saw blood all over his palm. It took him a second to realize it was his blood. He looked back up at Bren, his vision fading in and out.

The smirking soldier used his non-pistol hand to tap a device on his left shoulder. Bren suddenly blurred to materialize into someone else. That someone else was a familiar foe with poisonous, yellow eyes.

Danny's painful expression quickly turned into one of horror. _Dasyu?_ The pain returned, and he felt his heart slowly thumping against his chest.

The others were shocked at what they saw. They couldn't believe that Danny was shot, but were even more stunned to see that Bren was really Dasyu. Nala moved first, but Dasyu caught it. The pistol tracked the lioness and barked a report. The lioness went down with a scream.

"NNOOOO!"

The scream was muffled, but Danny could tell the voice belonged to Zainabu. He turned to see her running towards him, and he was terrified to hear another crack of the pistol Dasyu was firing. Zainabu went down to the ground. Danny's expression was a mix of horror and utter confusion. _This can't be happening. This has to be a dream._ The pain in his chest told him otherwise. It wasn't a dream, this was actually happening to him. To all of them.

Tojo was already up and charging at Dasyu with an extreme rage. "You little son of a-" He never finished the statement as the next round from Dasyu's pistol tore through Tojo's skull.

Danny watched his wife and his friend fall. Both of them fell to the ground, their eyes looking right at him. Their vacant looks bore through him, penetrating to his very soul. The sight of his dead friends looking into his eyes was scarring. That burning feeling of helplessness and failure came back, like a demon that plagued him to no end.

He didn't need to go feel their pulse to know Zee and Tojo were dead. It didn't even matter, because he knew he was going to join them soon. Danny saw another person go down. He wasn't sure who it was, but it looked like Tupac. His friends were being shot down in front of him, and all he could do was watch.

That is, until a new noise came. It came from outside of the cave, among the Pride Lands. Danny turned around to the source of the noise. Large flames were rising just underneath the promontory rock jutting out, and they were so bright that the sky gave a dark red illumination. The Pride Lands might as well have been called Hell. He tried to move, but then realized the bullet hit his spine. His legs were refusing to respond. His arms still worked, and he slowly dragged his way outside the cave. As he crept towards the side of the promontory, he could hear screams growing louder and louder as he got closer and closer to the edge. They were absolutely traumatizing to hear.

The pain in his chest was causing his mind to scream at him to give up, but he needed to see what was going on. When he reached the side of the arching rock, he wished he did give in to the pain. The beautiful Pride Lands were reduced to a hellish landscape; Danny could feel the extreme heat from the flames all around. There were bodies of animals everywhere. Some were shot; most were burned, cauterized beyond recognition. The only thing moving was an army. An army of Specters and drones filled the lands.

Danny didn't even know if he could say any words that could describe the horrific scene in front of him. _What in the hell happened? How did Dasyu get in without us hearing them?_

He saw a small remainder of his pride come out from the promontory's underside. They charged the army. He couldn't tell who was in the group, but they plunged through the lines. They were clawing and biting down on anything they could come into contact with. Despite their initial surprise, the tables turned against them. The Specters surrounded them and lowered their weapons at the last pride members. Danny tried to scream, but only let out a squeak as they opened fire and gunned down the lionesses.

The sound of footsteps behind him caused Danny to turn on his back and face whoever was coming. Dasyu walked up the arch to where Danny lay dying. Behind him were the bodies of all those who were meeting him, and the bodies of Simba and Tanabi. Danny didn't see Kovu or Kiara's body, and was sure he didn't see them in the group that was gunned down in the lands. _Maybe they got away?_ It was futile thinking, but any hope was some relief, even if short-lived. He tried scooting back, but his arms felt like rocks.

Dasyu stopped above him. "I must be having an experience of déjà vu here, Danny. I remember doing this at my facility, only you were standing and my facility blew up soon after. Let me try this again, but this time, I will make sure the roles and the situation are reversed." He raised the pistol to Danny's head, and brought it down on his face. A white flash of light followed, and then darkness.

Danny woke up with a scream, or at least he thought he did. His entire body was soaked in sweat, and he was shaking violently. He instinctively brought his hands down to his chest. There was no wound there, but his chest did feel the same tightness and pain that he felt in his dream. He wasn't sure if he had screamed or not, and looked down at Zainabu. His wife was still sleeping soundly, so she hadn't heard him. They were on the bed of the _**Preliator**_, and not in the pride cave, so his scream wouldn't be heard from them, either.

That traumatizing nightmare was no ordinary one, and he was all too familiar with that. It was like a vision of the future. Unlike the dreams he had after he and Simba had reclaimed the throne from Scar, unlike the dreams he had right before Scar ascended to the throne, this dream he could actually feel the pain. He always felt heat in his nightmares, but that was normal. The excruciating pain from the gunshot felt real.

Questions filled his mind frantically. Were Tojo and Mheetu right about Bren? Was he really a spy and in cahoots with Dasyu? Were the people of the Pride Lands going to get slaughtered? Was the Pride Land kingdom itself going to be erased from the face of the Earth? Would the pride get claimed with the rest of the people? He didn't know the answers to these questions, but he did know one thing. His nightmares were back, and they were back with an Armageddon-scaled vengeance.

* * *

><p><strong>By show of reviews(not hands) who hates me for that ending?<strong>


	6. Feels Like Old Times

**Alright, it's felt like ages since my last upload. I will leave my explanation for the huge gap between chapter updates down below. You've waited long enough for the next chapter, so I hope you like this one. Because you've had to wait, I've made the chapter a little longer than the others, so you'll be reading a little longer here. Enjoy!**

The morning came way too soon for Simba. He felt as though a few elephants decided to drop a boulder on top of him. This was going to be one of those days where he didn't want to work. It only felt like a few minutes ago that he fell asleep next to Nala, and now he had his duties to fulfill for the next day of his reign, though he was certain retirement was right around the corner. _At least, it better be,_ he thought. Kiara was still learning slowly, but she was learning. Hopefully, he would only have to rule under extreme circumstances when that came.

Shaking off the cobwebs of sleep, he got up and walked out. He was rather stiff, but that was because he hadn't stretched yet. He didn't want to stretch because by stretching, he would force out a yawn, which was a little less than a low-tone roar. Still, it would be more than enough to stir everyone of their sleep, and he didn't want to rob them of what he had difficulty sustaining.

He reached the base of the promontory and stretched. The warm sensation of stiff muscles loosening up helped make his morning improve, if only slightly. The morning sun was one welcome he never got tired of. The orange-hued sky and lands soon began to illuminate the once-dark landscapes of the Pride Lands. Even now, Simba could see some herds slowly moving from their slumber and heading to their grazing fields.

Simba knew the routine of the day. First, was the short patrol before Zazu showed up with the morning report. His majordomo should've already been on the job before Simba had even been awake. Once receiving the report, he would begin working on some issues among the kingdom or finishing up ones that he couldn't complete the previous day. If he had time, he would give Kiara, Tanabi, and Kovu their royal lessons in the afternoon. Kopa was too young to start his lessons, and hopefully wouldn't need them. Nevertheless, Simba would make sure he would get trained someday.

He rarely had time for fun, but with Danny now longer sharing the throne, his schedule got a whole lot tighter. Even though he was still a little upset about his brother stepping down, things could've been a lot worse if Danny hadn't come back to help reunite the pride again. Simba was eight years old, and he was starting to feel age creep up on him. His body was still as muscular and vital as he did the last few years, but the ambush by Zira over a year before had been a sign that he was on the decline. He wasn't sure how many more times he could survive something like that.

The sound of rock connecting with rock caused his ears to perk up and towards the upper part of the promontory. He didn't see anything, at first, but then he saw a small rock sail down from the summit and bounce off the arch before resuming its fall to the ground below. Simba looked up to see Danny's legs hanging off the edge, but he couldn't see the rest of his brother's form. Curious, he decided to see how Danny was doing.

As Simba walked up around the slope, he now had a view of Danny's back facing him. Simba was sure his brother heard him coming up, but the human didn't pay him any mind. He decided to just walk up calmly rather than sneaking up. "Hey, brother. You sleep well last night?"

Danny didn't answer him. He just kept throwing pebbles to the grasslands below.

Simba frowned. _What is wrong with him? _An idea came to his head, and his tone turned humorous. "What's wrong, bro? Cat got your tongue?"

Apparently, that was enough to snap Danny out of his trance. He turned around and smiled at Simba. "If he does, I'm gonna tie his hind legs up and see him try to walk, all the while taking my tongue back."

Relief began to substitute the worry growing in Simba. "Okay, there. For a minute, I was getting wor-" He stopped when he saw Danny's face. Even though Danny was smiling, it was a haunted version of him. His eyes were blood shot and dark circles were visible underneath. More importantly, it seemed his entire facial expression was devoid of any life, despite his smile. Simba quickly shook off the hesitation. "-worried. Are you alright? You look how I feel: super tired."

Danny waved him off. "Nah, don't worry about it. Just a bad night of sleep, that's all. What's up?"

"I just heard you throwing the rocks down to the ground. You got a lot on your mind?"

"You could say that, bro. Most of it's on the war. The rest…I'm not so sure about, nothing that I want to say right now until I am more certain about it." He chuckled and turned to Simba. "How about you, _your Highness_?"

"Very funny," Simba retorted. He recalled the events of the last couple days and grimaced. _I don't know how he's gonna take this._ "I've been taking Kiara, Kovu, and Tanabi on my rounds, giving them lessons on ruling the kingdom."

"I can't imagine Tanabi is taking too well to the formalities," Danny quipped.

"He's taking a few too many lessons from his uncle," came the shoot-back response from the lion. "But that's beside the point. I was hearing some of the people talk. They sure are brimming with confidence about your victories in the war, Danny…so much so that they feel untouchable from anything that stands in your way."

That struck a nerve with Danny. For a split second, Simba seemed to notice a change in his face, but the human did a good job at keeping his emotions from showing on his face when he wanted to. His expression went from normal, to disturbed, and back to normal in less than a second. Simba was certain it worried Danny, and he wanted to know what he was holding back.

Danny's voice suddenly became subdued. "Would that have to do with the way you looked when you mentioned the people yesterday in our conversation?"

"Yeah, that had a lot to do with it."

The human breathed in deeply. "I wouldn't worry about it right now. Honestly, it's much better than having unrest and panic. However, if it does get worse, we'll have to keep watch over things carefully until something drastic constitutes my stepping in and setting them straight. Just tell them that the war is progressing, but that the people's vigilance is every bit as vital as the fighting itself."

Simba frowned. "I'll try, but that doesn't sound convincing."

"It's all we've got, Simba." Danny placed a hand on his shoulder. "This doesn't sound like the cocky cub I once knew all those years ago. You're not going all 'hyena' on me, are you?"

"You know if you're jokes were fights, you'd have no one left to face you."

"I'd just be satisfied with Dasyu and his goons, for now. But like I said, that's all I have to give you right now. I may be the General of the Pride Lands, but you are the ruler now. That's the way it should've been all along."

"This is true." Simba smirked. "Besides, you were a terrible leader anyway. The people needed a more…_formal _king."

"Hey, if I was formal during our reign, the kingdom would've been a whole lot more boring." Commotion was beginning to be heard from the mouth of the cave. Both Danny and Simba leaned over to see the lionesses coming out and gathering below them. Danny got up. "Looks like I need to get ready. I don't want to keep the lionesses waiting for me to show up in the hunt, and I really need to flex those muscles again."

As he headed toward his ship, Simba watched him go. There was definitely something off with Danny, and Simba couldn't shake off his gut feeling that it had to do with his bad night of sleep. When he mentioned the issue with the people, it looked like Danny was trying his best to hide something. Normally, he wouldn't go with his gut feelings. But these were anything but normal times, and Danny himself taught Simba that when he had nothing to go on, he should go with his instincts and gut feelings. Danny had been through bad nights of sleep, and they were an allegorical glimpse of the future. Simba could only hope it was just, simply, a bad night of sleep.

* * *

><p>The cobwebs of sleep were hard for Sarabi to elude as well, and this morning proved to be no exception. She was getting up in her age, and at thirteen, she was slowing down as far as vitals were concerned. She could still hunt as good as most of the lionesses, and Zira could be counted in that category as well. However, neither of the pride matriarchs held the stamina they once had to continually keep up with the others. Today, she and Zira would serve as observers and only assist in an emergency.<p>

The lionesses were particularly cheery this morning. Even though few knew it was a fact, almost everyone was chattering about the so-called rumor that Danny would be joining them on the hunt. For some of the seasoned huntresses, this would remind them of the good 'ol days. For most, it would be one of the rare and even first times that they would see him in action.

The majority of the pride had assembled by the base of the promontory, with two or three chatting privately together. Nala had gathered the main group together, so Sarabi headed in her direction. She was joined by Zira as the two reached the queen of the Pride Lands. As queen, Nala still handled the duties as the leader of the hunts. But like a handful of the lionesses, she was beginning to hit her peak, and would soon have to hand over the duties to another lioness. Otherwise, her handling both duties, as queen and hunt leader, would become very taxing; that decision would come in due time.

"Can I have all lionesses gather here?" Nala raised her voice so that all could hear, but kept it firm. "Alright, we know what the plan is for the day. Is there anyone who is unable to hunt?"

At first, no one spoke up. That normally was a good sign to Sarabi, and from the look on Nala's face, she felt the same as her mother-in-law. Then Nala frowned as her gaze locked on a particular section of the hunting party. Sarabi tried to follow Nala's eyes and saw Vitani in the front. Sarabi was confused. _Is there a problem with Vitani? _It didn't make sense. Why would Nala frown at Vitani?

The answer to that question came soon enough. Nala wasn't frowning at Vitani, but at the two lionesses right behind her. "Aziza, Shani…are you two okay?"

Sarabi looked at them and could see why Nala was frowning. Both lionesses showed looks of pain, as though they were clawed. But when the attention was brought to them, they quickly hid it.

Aziza spoke for them. "We're fine. It's probably just a side-effect of our pregnancy."

Nala didn't seem convinced. Either that, or she just looked like she wanted to play things safe with those two. "You're sure you're good to hunt?"

"Yes, my queen. We're fine," Aziza replied quickly.

Sarabi looked back at Nala. The queen narrowed her eyes, but just shrugged it off. Sarabi understood what they were going through, as did Nala, which was why she was asking. In any case, pressing the issue would have to wait until later. For now, they had the hunt.

"Alright, then," Nala began. "Zazu's informed me that there's a herd of gerenuks grazing just off of the western waterhole. This will go down just like the previous time. The only difference is, we will catch two of them. That should cover enough for about half the pride."

"So how do we get the other half covered for food?" Akili asked.

"That's where I come in."

Everyone turned to face Danny. His hunting attire was a fairly tight black shirt, multi-cam pants, black gloves, and tan boots. A pistol holster was strapped to his right hip and he had slung his M4 rifle on his back, pressing against the hydration bladder strapped beneath it. The black clothing would definitely absorb a lot of sun, but he could endure it. He had come prepared for the hunt, and seemed just as eager to go on the hunt as they were.

Zainabu was also next to him, but she had changed back into her lioness form. She, too, wanted to join the hunt, but wanted to hunt it the best way she knew how. Even though she was eleven years old, her revitalized form made her look like she was in between three and four years old. Coupled with her light, youthful voice, she could easily convince a stranger that she was a young adult lioness.

Sarabi noticed that Danny looked a lot more sleep-deprived than she had seen him in a long time. _The last time he looked that tired was when…_ She shook off the thought. She hoped it wasn't similar to his past experiences.

Danny walked up to them and turned around to point in the direction of the western border. "Not far off from the gerenuk herd is a herd of wildebeest. I'll take one down and we can carry it back here for a nice meal."

"Why don't we go after the wildebeests first and bag a quick kill in case we fail on our hunt?" That was Shoshanna who asked that question, one of the younger lionesses.

"One, because you can't rely on me all the time; you need to keep your skills sharp. Two, I only have so much ammunition to spare from my rifle. It's not like I can go hunting with the pride every, single day. But anyways, back to you, Nala."

Nala gave her big brother a smile of thanks and continued. "So, we're going to split up into four teams. I'll be taking the track team. Kula and Vitani, you will be in charge of the swing teams. Danny and Zainabu, I would like you to take the push team."

Danny looked at Zainabu, who nodded. "That sounds fine with me."

Sarabi smiled. She knew by this point that Danny had picked up on the terminology of hunting with a pride. The track team led the way to pinpoint the location of the herd. Once they had found the herd, they would position themselves. Then the swing teams would stalk their way around to the sides of the herd. Their job was to wall the herd off and keep them from scattering. The push team, or pushers, had the hardest job. They had to go with one of the swing groups, but their team had to circle all the way around the herd. If they were caught, it would spell the end of a successful hunt, or worse, risk an injury to the hunting party. Another risk was involved in the second part of their job. The pushers would then charge towards the herd in an attempt to drive them towards the track team. If the charge did not intimidate the herd, the prey could potentially become the predator by charging towards the team, which usually ended bloody.

But Sarabi had no worries about Danny taking that team. His rifle did wonders at intimidation to prey. She knew he would push them back toward Nala and her team, who would be waiting a great distance back for any prey to get separated from the herd.

She listened in closely as Nala began selecting lionesses for each team. "I'll take Kiara, Tavira, and Shoshanna. Kula, I want you to take Aziza, Shani, and Chinue. Vitani, you take Akili, Lisha, and Farida. Danny and Zainabu, you'll have Dalmar, Uzima, Nadia, and Pulika."

"The rookies, huh?" Danny arched an eyebrow. "This should be good."

"Hey, we're not as inexperienced as you might think, sir," Dalmar said, confidently.

"As my father always said to me, 'we shall see.'" His smirk matched his intrigued tone. "And just call me Danny."

"Got it," Dalmar replied.

"I think they would like to see what it's like to hunt with you since most of the others know what your game is," Nala said. "The senior lionesses will split up and observe all of you. Give them respect and listen to their critique. They're doing that to help you improve." Looking at the five lioness matriarchs, she said, "You may pick your teams."

They gave the queen a respectable nod and moved to their team of choice. Berhane opted to observe her daughter Kula's team, while Ebere and Xolani both chose Danny's. Knowing Zira would observe Vitani's group, Sarabi headed for the queen's group. She did notice that it seemed those who used to be Outsiders were not mixed in with any of the lifelong pride members. Even though she was certain that Nala probably didn't mean anything by it, she would look towards making time to talk with the queen about mixing up the groups.

But for now, there was the hunt. Everyone began heading down the slope, and Sarabi kept in step with Nala's team. Seeing Danny in the hunting party again brought a sense of ease to the general mood, and she had no problem with that.

* * *

><p>Danny was off in another world as he walked with his hunting party. His mind was set on what Simba had said to him up on the summit. The nightmare he had last night was bad enough, but Simba talking about the people being overconfident got him even more worried. There was nothing that even remotely connected the people's overconfidence to the dream, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were somehow linked. <em>But how are they linked together? How? God, why can't I get an easy answer on this one? <em>He decided to put it to rest as best as he could. His focus needed to be brought back to the present.

He loaded a magazine into his M4 and pulled the charging handle back to chamber a round. It had felt like ages since he last went on a hunt with the lionesses. It reminded him of the old times, when there was peace in the lands and just a normal day in the life of the Pride Lands. This time, he would be the teacher, and the lionesses would be the students with the exception of Zainabu. Compared to the war, this would be a cakewalk.

He studied the lionesses in his group. He already knew about Zee's hunting. But Zira had presented to him, what he called, a scouting report on each of the younger lionesses. Uzima was one of the stronger ones, both physically and mentally. Zira saw great potential in her as a huntress, but sometimes she would let it get to her head. Nadia was a decent hunter, but her best attribute was her ability to communicate clearly and call out the best target in a hunt. Pulika wasn't the best lioness in the hunting party, but there was no question about her obedience to orders. Even if it was a hard assignment, she would take it whether she liked it or not. Dalmar was the best all-around lioness of the four. She may have not any particularly special abilities that the others had, but she also didn't have any glaring weaknesses like them, either. Not a bad group to be with.

"General?"

Danny turned to look down at Pulika, the lioness who called him by his title. "Please, call me Danny. You don't need to call me 'General'. What's up?"

She blushed slightly in embarrassment. "I was just curious about something. The queen set us up in an odd way."

His face went slack. He knew what she meant by that, and that idea ran through his mind for only a few moments, initially. "You mean how the teams are set up with original Pride Landers-only and former Outsiders-only?"

"It just seems biased to me, Danny."

The man smiled. "I don't think she set it up intentionally to seem biased. If she did, it might be because you worked well together when you lived in the Outlands and the Pride Landers were still here. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. If she does it in back-to-back hunts, I'm sure Zainabu and I can talk to her about it. In the meantime, let's focus on hunting for some food."

"Sounds good to me," she said, now wearing an expression of determination.

As she headed on, Zainabu came walking up to him. "Everything okay?"

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, Pulika just brought up something I had thought about back on Pride Rock. Nala had arranged the teams in a particular fashion. It gives the look of the former Outsiders being ostracized from the Pride Lander hunting teams, as though Nala would not want the old Outsiders to work with the ones who had never rebelled against Simba."

Zainabu's expression suggested that she was caught off-guard. "I never thought of it that way. But now that you mention it, I can see why she might be a little irked by the way the teams were set up. What did you tell her?"

"I said not to worry about it, but if this happens in the near future, I will talk to Nala and see if she is intentionally doing this and why. But that's for later. Right now, I'm looking forward to some gerenuk to eat."

"I thought you wanted wildebeest today," his wife said with a playful wink.

He chuckled. "I just want to catch something for the whole pride to feast on, but I really want some gerenuk for the main course; maybe a bunch of bananas and some grass or seaweed from the river for salad." That last fragment of his statement made him want to laugh again. Never in his life did he think of eating seaweed, but it was one of the few plants he could have in the place of other vegetables, and when it dried in the sun, it tasted pretty good.

"Sounds like a meal to me, honey. Maybe we c-"

Danny's hunting team stopped in their tracks. Nadia was sniffing around, and locked her face off at an angle to the group's right. She looked back at him and jerked her head to the right of the group and pawed the ground four times. _Someone was forty yards away from their position. _

Remembering what signs to give, he jerked his thumb toward his chest, and then pointed away. _Are they coming toward us or going away?_

Nadia aimed her head straight down. _They're coming towards us._

Danny brought his rifle to bear. Looking through his ACOG scope, he scanned the grass in the approximate direction of where he believed the animal was coming from. Sure enough, he could see the tall grass parting on the decline of a nearby knoll. He couldn't make out the shape of the creature, but it was heading directly for them. However, he couldn't tell if they were intently heading in their direction or had no idea that the hunting party was there. If it happened to be prey, it would be an easy catch. If it was a predator, then he would have to deal with it.

That was easier said than done. He could easily fire on the approaching animal, but the problem with that was the noise. He didn't have a silencer, and they were already in range of the two herds. There was no question in his mind that they would hear the gunshot, and would scatter as a result. On the other hand, Danny didn't want to have to go with the knife; that was a last resort.

Danny looked at his group. They were all looking at him expectantly. Thinking quickly, he let his rifle dangle by the sling and used his hands for commands. He put his palms together, spread them out slowly, and waved them down. _Spread out and lay low._ He was pleased to see most of them move, except Uzima. She didn't quite understand the signals very well and just stood there. Danny resisted the desire to sigh exaggeratedly. He pointed at her, then to the position she should be, and then waved down. That equation of signs, she understood, and moved to where she was ordered.

They waited for a few minutes, but it seemed like a lot longer than that. Danny unsheathed his knife; he was sure he would need it. The sound of footsteps were becoming more and more audible to his ears, and was sure the lionesses could pick it up long before he did.

Zainabu, who was lying down next to him, whispered into his ears. "It's a warthog, definitely a male."

Danny looked at her and smiled. "Good, an easy catch for us." He furrowed his brows. "Um, how do you know it's a male? I'm just curious."

"All male creatures smell alike."

"Oh, ok then…" He did a double take. "Wait, would do you mean by that!?" He whispered, but as loud as a whisper could be.

Zainabu didn't laugh, but she grinned widely. She looked back in the direction of the approaching warthog.

The entire group sunk low into the grass, using their naturally tan bodies to blend in to their environment. Danny was the only one who could stand out, but he was fairly well hidden in the tall grass. He would only be spotted through a keen eye or at least detected due to his unique scent. That was the one problem for him in staying hidden from other animals, but they couldn't pinpoint him to an exact location until it would be too late.

Everyone's breathing became shallow as the warthog ventured closer. The hoofs of the porcine animal could now be heard. That, and a voice. It was higher in pitch and carried a familiar tone.

"Hakuna Matata…what a wonderful phrase…Hakuna Matata…ain't no passin' craze…"

Danny hung his head. _You've got to be kidding me._ He looked over at Zainabu, who shared the same expression he wore. Peeking up, he saw the familiar sight of Simba's longtime friends, Timon and Pumbaa. They were singing their usual motto-song-of-life, not really paying attention to their surroundings. Danny let a grin form on his face. _Let's play a little Jack-in-the-Box._

Timon and Pumbaa got closer to their location, within ten yards. Danny listened to them as they stopped singing and started talking. Pumbaa was looking around, a hint of suspicion on his face whereas Timon just seemed to be his usual, lackadaisical self.

"Uh, Timon? It's awfully quiet around here," Pumbaa said, sounding uncertain.

"Your point being?"

"Don't you think there might be danger around?"

Timon stopped to turn around and face his friend. "Pumbaa, Pumbaa, Pumbaa. We're in the Pride Lands, our friend Simba is the king, and Danny is now here to help him. Hakuna Matata. What kind of danger do we need to worry about?"

"Hey you!"

Danny screamed at the top of his lungs while lunging from his hiding spot toward the dynamic duo. The result was priceless. Both meerkat and warthog began screaming bloody murder in comical fashion. Whenever there would be boredom in the kingdom, Timon and Pumbaa would be there to make that change. Danny did his best not to laugh at them, but couldn't hold in the smile. "I'm sorry, Timon. What was the last thing you said?"

When both realized who scared them, both breathed a sigh of relief. Timon then registered what Danny had said and gave a mock-laugh. "Ha ha, very funny. I guess I wasn't looking at my weekly planner…must've missed the 'scare the fur off the Hakuna Matata guys' Day."

"That's what you get for not paying attention to the territory, pal," Danny replied, still with a goofy grin on his face. "What have you two been up to?"

"Well, we just got back from seeing Timon's family," Pumbaa said. "Right, Timon?"

Timon nodded. "Yep. We had the annual family reunion, and a grub-fest to boot."

Danny shook his head. "With the amount of time you guys travel, one would think you'd have your own television show."

"Hmm," Timon hummed. "Good idea, Danny. I'll have to keep it in mind for our future plans."

"You do that," came the sardonic response from the human.

"Now, what are _you_ doing here, Danny? Out for a morning walk or somethin'?"

Danny sheathed his knife. "I was actually heading out here with my hunting party."

Timon looked around, and saw nothing. He placed his hands on his hips. "What hunting party?" As Danny whistled, a number of lionesses rose from the tall grass, all facing the three males. Timon gaped. "Oh…that hunting party."

"Yeah, so we were just curious as to what you were doing, but next time, pay more attention to your surroundings. You wouldn't want to end up in a bad situation, would you?"

"You got a point there, big fella," Timon said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "Well, there's nothing Pumbaa can't handle. Right, buddy?"

"Absolutely, best friend," the cheerful warthog replied.

Danny shook his head. He had never met two more quirky beings than these two before him, but they complimented each other very well. Then he realized that he was getting sidetracked from what he was supposed to be doing. He pointed to Pride Rock. "Alright, well you two head back home. Someone should keep Kopa from being bored out of his skull. I figure you both would be the right pair of babysitters for the job."

Normally, they would balk at watching cubs, but they seemed to take it in stride. Timon made a swift, sweeping gesture with his arm. "Have no fear, bwana. We'll make sure he stays out of trouble."

_I'm more afraid of you two being the source of the trouble, _Danny thought. "Alright, Timon. You better get going."

The meerkat jumped onto Pumbaa's back. "Let's ride, Pumbaa. We've got a cub in need." He held onto Pumbaa's back as the two headed off for Pride Rock. "Hakuna Matata…what a wonderful phrase…Hakuna Matata…ain't no passin craze…"

Danny watched them get further and further out of earshot, but frowned as he kept hearing the song still being sung fairly close to him. He looked down at Zainabu, who was right next to him.

"It means no worries…for the rest of your days…It's our problem-" She stopped when she realized that her husband was staring at her with incredulous expression. "What? It's a catchy tune."

"Not you too," Danny said, face-palming himself.

"What's the matter, Danny? You don't like the thought of 'Hakuna Matata?'" Zainabu asked, playfully.

"I really want the meaning of the phrase. I'd love to have no worries, but that's not likely to happen, at least, not until the war is over." He looked at the hunting party. They were all looking at him, expectantly. "But let's get back to the hunting party. We've got some food to catch."

* * *

><p>They caught up with the rest of the hunting party. Nala's track team had located the herd of gerenuk, which was grazing in the open field. The other teams had huddled next to her and waited for the pushers to pick which way to go. After a quick discussion, Danny chose to follow behind Kula's group. Part of the reason for his choice was to avoid any discrimination by having the one-time Outsiders all in one group and not mixed in with the others.<p>

Danny knew he was going to have the hardest time working his way around. He had to carry his equipment, and that meant not being able to morph back into a lion. If he could, he would have the added benefit of padded paws for stealth. Since he didn't have that, he would have to rely on the lionesses signaling him to remain still when needed to.

The groups slowly moved into position. Zainabu crept and slinked right next to her husband, making sure his path was clear to bear-crawl through. She pointed out a few twigs from a nearby tree and some rocks that could give their position away if someone hit them. Fortunately, Danny made sure he would not touch them. He occasionally brushed his hand on his pistol. If something went wrong, he wanted to get a couple quick kills for the pride, especially if he was responsible for the problem.

He was especially glad he was in excellent physical shape. All the low level crawling was beginning to tax his limbs. Not being able to put his knees on the ground was beginning to wear on him. Had this been eight years ago when he first came here, he would not have been able to go this long with the shape he was in, at that time. When the wind picked up, he would take advantage to move on his knees and give his limbs a momentary break.

It was about forty minutes later, but it felt like longer than that. Danny and Zainabu formed the center of the push line, staying five feet apart. The other lionesses spaced out about thirty feet apart from each other. They were now in position to begin the charge. Danny waited to regain his energy, since he had just used up a decent amount. He felt his heart rate begin to slow down, and his breathing became easier to keep shallow and silent.

He slowly rose his head up. The gerenuk had not changed positions, nor did they even have their heads up in survey of the land. They had no idea that they were surrounded by a pride of lionesses, and just kept grazing in the swaying grass. The wind had definitely served as a camouflage for the hunting party, and left them in an excellent position.

Danny looked at Zainabu. He pointed to his eyes first, then swung his finger in a semi-circle, and finished by bringing his hand down in his best imitation of a clawed paw. _Do you see the other teams?_

Zainabu looked from left to right, slowly turning so as to avoid being seen by moving too fast. She looked back at him and nodded. She could see them all.

That brought a smile to the human's face. He pointed to his eyes again, but this time his hand began waving back and forth in a swishing manner. _Are the other team's ready?_

The signal was the swishing of the tail of the team leader, high enough to where it could be seen by the others, especially the pushers. Zainabu looked up, narrowed her eyes and scanned the field. One by one, she gave three curt nods in the directions of the other three teams before looking again at Danny, giving him a nod and smile. They were ready.

Pulling out his knife and pistol, Danny made his move. He quickly stood up on his feet and brought his arms above his head. He noticed some of the gerenuk lifted their heads toward him. Danny raised his voice as loudly as he could. "Now!"

He began charging forward, yelling loud enough to spook the herd. The other lionesses followed his charge and began running towards the prey. The reaction went according to plan; the herd began running away from them. The flanking teams rose from their position to narrow the gap for the herd to escape through in the hopes that a gerenuk or two would get separated from the main body.

Danny ran as fast as he could, but in his human form, he couldn't keep up with the lionesses. In his lion form, he would have no problems. But he could barely focus on the wishing game, as he was starting to gasp for air. Normally, he would just aim his pistol and fire, but that would scare off the herd of wildebeests nearby. Hopefully Zazu was flying overhead as a scout for the hunters.

As he looked, he could already see good results from the hunt. Two lionesses managed to catch an injured adult female lagging behind from the others, so a part of the meal was guaranteed for the pride. One more would be good enough since Danny would go after a wildebeest soon afterwards. He looked up ahead just in time to see the track team make their move. Jumping up, the lionesses jumped all over the gerenuk, forcing them to scatter. Nala and Shoshanna tackled the closest gerenuk to them, causing a dust cloud to kick up, making it impossible to see anything.

Danny carefully moved forward, heading towards the dust cloud, with the rest of the pride converging on the queen's location. He was sure that Nala had the gerenuk, but there was that miniscule chance that it got away. He squinted his eyes to keep the dust from irritating them, but soon Zainabu came up next to him and offered her back for him to grab, guiding him through the cloud of dust. He smiled. He couldn't even begin to describe how happy he was to have a wife like her. She had been through thick and thin, and showed patience to put up with him during the first few years he was here. If they made it through the war, he planned on enjoying every moment he had with her.

They came to where the lionesses were grouped. Nala was holding the gerenuk down while Shoshanna was strangulating it. The hunt went off soundly. The others were giving each other congratulations while the observing senior lionesses began to give the team leaders their critiques.

Now came the part where Danny played a larger role. Normally, a larger role meant harder tasks. This was not a normal role. Most of the lionesses had seen and heard the sound of the weapon on his back. This was going to be a close-up demonstration of his methods for hunting.

"Good job, everyone," Zira said. "There were a few mistakes made from the flanking teams, but they adapted and overcame. I won't take that away from you."

"I second the congratulations," Danny added in. "You all did a great job as a unit. We've got ourselves something to eat for tonight. Now, let's get something for tomorrow."

"So, we're moving out with you?" That was Shani who asked the question.

Danny pursed his lips for a moment. "I'd at least like to have the younger lionesses with me to see this. You wouldn't mind, would you Nala?"

The queen shook her head. "No, I don't think that will be a problem. I'll take the senior lionesses and we'll take the carcasses back. That includes Shani, Kula, and Aziza. Everyone else, go with Danny and Zainabu."

Danny heard Shani groan. He knew she wanted to come, but the queen's orders weren't questioned. Danny no longer had any authority like he once did, so there wasn't much he could do. He just gave her a shrug, but he would try to take her once he had some time to do so. He checked to make sure the safety was still set on his rifle and waved the other lionesses over to him.

The young generation of lionesses grouped around him and Zainabu, with intent expressions. They had all heard of Danny's hunting methods, but they had never seen him in action. That was about to change for them. "Alright. Everyone, on me." He motioned the now-reduced hunting party to huddle around him. He got down on his knee so that he was at eye level with all of them. "Okay, here's our mission. There's a nearby wildebeest herd grazing in a field. All we have to do is get one of them." He cleared his throat. "Now, this will be far easier than what we just went through with the gerenuk. All you girls have to do is watch me go to work and hope that you still have your hearing by the time this hunt is over."

"What do you mean 'hope you still have your hearing'?" Pulika asked.

Danny brought the M4 around and showed it to them. "My rifle makes a loud noise when fired. You can hear it from a long ways away, and if you happen to be really close when it goes off, it can hurt your eardrums, producing a ringing effect. But the bullets inside the rifle will launch at incredible speeds. Given the distance we'll be from the herd, you won't even be able to see the bullet. You just have to watch to see which wildebeest falls. Zainabu has had experience with the rifle before, so this won't affect her too much."

"So, all we're doing is just watching?" That was Uzima who asked the question.

"Pretty much. You're task is to watch for the wildebeest I shoot to fall and close in. Once I fire, the noise will frighten the herd to run away from the source of the sound."

"If only we could do that more often…" She said.

"It would make hunting a lot easier, but I only can do this so much." He stood and pulled out his monocular and looked around the area. "The only challenge is just finding where they're at."

All he could see was open grasslands. No herd could be seen for miles, and that confused him. Usually, he'd see some pack, herd, or coalition that could be easily seen from even the naked eye. The fact that he had yet to spot anything left him confused. He scanned three times in all directions, just to make sure that he hadn't missed anything. "Well, this is proving to be more of a…oh, wait." He stopped as he zoomed in near the distant waterhole on their side of the Pride Lands. "I've got them. They're near the waterhole. I guess they were further from where I'd originally guessed." He put his monocular away. "We're just gonna have a slightly longer journey dragging the carcass back."

He heard a couple of them grumble as they moved out in the direction of the wildebeests.

* * *

><p>Zainabu had to admit, this hunt was beginning to tax her energy. Normal hunts meant one carcass and everyone was good for a meal. But with the size of the pride and her husband's hunting demonstration, this was far from the pride's typical hunt. She smirked. <em>Since when has a hunt ever been typical since he came here?<em> She had remembered how life was a typical day in the life of the pride before Danny came to the Pride Lands. It was go out, hunt, and bring back food good for one, maybe two days. Danny changed that considerably. They could get food for at least a week on one hunt, but it was only for a limited time because of ammunition and the events of the last few years.

She brought her mind back on the task at hand. Along with Danny, they were both leading the young hunting party closer to the herd. None had left the waterhole, but a few happened to stray off some small distances from the main group. This should be an easy hunt, but she secretly wondered which lioness would give her a fit of laughs. It didn't take long to find her first prediction, as she overheard Danny's conversation with Dalmar.

"So your black stick that you carry-"

"Rifle," Danny corrected.

"Okay, rifle," she said, somewhat exasperatedly. "So your rifle that you use for both hunting and battle…is it truly effective on both counts?"

Danny just kept his confident smirk. "I guess you'll find out soon enough, Dalmar."

She didn't seem impressed with the weapon, as suggested by her quizzical look at it. "I'm gonna be honest, that rifle doesn't seem so intimidating. I doubt that it's as loud as you boast it is."

"I'm not boasting about its loudness, but it _is _loud. You'll also find out why it can be comforting to some, and intimidating to others." The last statement was said with an edge.

Zainabu smiled. Danny had said it with an edge, but it was a light one. She could tell that he was just messing around with her, trying to get her unnerved but with no intentions of harm, just joking. It seemed to work, as Dalmar tensed her body and walked slightly away from him. _She must've gotten nervous from that._ She moved up next to her husband and whispered into his ear. "I've got a pound of gerenuk that says she'll be the one to flinch when you fire the M4."

"I've got a feeling you're right," he said back into hers. "I'm already close enough to the herd to fire the rifle accurately. We're gonna stop at the boulder up ahead and take out a stray wildebeest. I'll be sure that she's next to me when I fire." He pointed at Dalmar.

She smiled. "I'm going to be watching her very carefully."

Danny held his fist up when they reached the huge rock. Waving his hand down toward the group, he got down on his knees while the party got low in the grass. Zainabu got down next to him and grabbed her own monocular to spot for him. Danny looked for Dalmar and found her ten feet away from him. He waved under the height of the grass to get her attention. Once he did, he motioned her to creep up and observe the herd next to him. He rested his body on the boulder and set the rifle up in a good, supported position. Quickly surveying the strays, he spotted a fairly large, male wildebeest.

"Do you see anything?" Zainabu asked.

"Yes," his voice was barely audible. "A stray male, off to the right. Let me just center my sights on him…" He focused his ACOG on the head of the wildebeest. "Dalmar, you ready to see this?"

She snorted. "I've been ready for the last few minutes."

Rolling his eyes, he turned to her. "Just be ready to…hey, what's going on over there?" He pointed back at Pride Rock.

Dalmar turned her head. She saw some trees on the back end swaying, but that was all she could see. It could've been monkeys, but it was probably only the wind. She frowned, confused. "I don't see anything. Are you sure you're not-"

Her sentence was cut short by an extremely loud crack in the air. She yelped and ducked down to the ground, covering her ears and scrunching her eyes shut. The crack echoed in the air, and was soon followed by the dull rumble of the herd moving. When the rumbling died down, Dalmar opened an eye.

Zainabu was watching Dalmar the whole time, but she did glance up to see the wildebeest Danny had targeted had gone down. She looked back down at Dalmar, who was looking around as if a predator was about to ambush her. She started giggling, while Danny didn't even hide his laughter. He fell to the ground, laughing hysterically. The rest of the hunting party joined in on the comical situation.

"That's not funny at all!" Dalmar said, indignantly.

Danny didn't answer, he just kept laughing. Zainabu answered her. "At least you've been able to hear how loud the M4 rifle is. As for its effectiveness that you seemed so pessimistic about, go check out the dead wildebeest."

Dalmar got up and tried to shake off the embarrassment. "Well, at least we have an abundance of food for the next few days. In case anyone was concerned, I'm fine."

After laughing, Danny finally got off of his belly and stood. He flipped the safety back on and slung the rifle. "Oh yeah…I was deathly concerned about your hearing. It would've broken my heart. However, since you can still hear well, let's go get our food. I'm hungry and am gonna need something to eat with my grass or seaweed, depending on how salty my wildebeest is."

"I still can't believe you would eat grass," Dalmar said.

"It's the only way I can get my vegetables. I may not have to eat as much meat as you, but I also have to eat fruit and vegetables. Fruits are easy to find here, but veggies are something else." He pointed in the direction of the wildebeest he shot. "But the more I talk about food, the hungrier I get. Let's go get the body and bring it back to Pride Rock."

"Amen to that," Zainabu said, as they all headed toward their kill to drag back home.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Anyways for my explanation for the delay in updates.<strong>

**Last time, I was facing writer's block, for the most part. This time, it was a huge whirlwind of stuff. My folks sold and closed their house, which meant that a lot of maintaining the cleanliness of the house, plus the clearing out of all my stuff into storage and my new house. With me being in charge of the house for a month, that can be taxing on my energy. Throw in the military, work, and a crazy road trip, I've had very little time to just collect my thoughts, let alone some time to write. Now, that I've moved into my new home and the old house fiasco is over, I should have some more time to focus on my story. I greatly appreciate all those who have been patient with me and this story. All stories and writers face obstacles, and this is no exception. **

**I hope that helped enlighten you on the delay. In the meantime, I look forward to your reviews!**

**Later!**


	7. Homeland Security

**Hey, everyone! Here's my next chapter. I had this chapter done a little while ago, but since this is going to be the toughest part of the story, I wrote a couple chapters to get a headstart. Hopefully, it will go smoothly from here on. I'm gonna be exploring the characters a little bit during this time. Again, reviews and critiques would be most helpful. Enjoy!**

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><p>The sun set on another beautiful day in Africa. Far away from the Pride Lands, a certain figure surveyed the landscape as it took on a more reddish hue from the evening star of the planet. He would normally just perform his routine scout of the area for any approaching forces that signaled hostile or unknown intentions. On this patrol, he found the time to enjoy the beauty of the land. True, the mountainous landscape provided excellent camouflage for the facility, with rock pillars everywhere to add to the concealment. But it was grassy plains and knolls as well as the wildlife that got his attention. A marvelous job was made in creating all of this; it almost seemed perfect. Maybe it was.<p>

"It'll be a shame if all of this is turned to ashes all because we didn't finish this war," Bren said. He scanned left and right with his binoculars, and came up with nothing. That was a always a good sign, but it kept him on edge rather than finding forces. There was some times where he wished the enemy would show up. Just some force nearby that would clumsily move around to indicate that the facility had not been discovered, but that the enemy was in range. _If only things were that easy._

"_Subjects moving closer, please advise."_

"_Intercept and apprehend, Bren." _

"_What was that?" The girl asked._

"_This is Bren. Take them now."_

"_This is how it begins, and this is how it will end."_

At the sound of the late Striker's voice, Bren whipped around, pistol at the ready. There was no one in the area but himself, and no sound but the wind. He had realized that he experienced a flashback. It was one he had been haunted with. The incident that he held within himself, hoping it wouldn't come to light. But he would be naïve if he actually believed that. Bren knew he would have to tell Danny at some point. He was just hoping that the human would forgive him when he did tell. The guilt he felt was the same guilt he had first felt when he left the Pride Lands to recruit more Specters to Danny's cause, and nothing has changed since.

After scanning the area one final time, he set his binoculars in the container of his speeder bike. "This is Rook two-seven. Sector is scanned and report is green status."

"Roger, two-seven. Romeo, Tango, Bravo." That was the phonetic code Danny had taught him and the other communication techs, and the particular code was a signal to return to base.

Bren got back on the speeder and headed back for Facility Alpha. Following the shadowy trail down the mountain, his path was concealed all the way back to the mountain containing the rebuilt stronghold. It was the standard procedure for avoiding detection or unintentionally leading the enemy back to base. The long range scanners at the base would let him know if he was being shadowed. Having no transmissions was a good thing, in his book. Lingering in the back of his mind was the possibility of being spotted and the base being compromised. _Why can't that nagging feeling just go away when I want it to?_

He reached the ground level hangar doors, and they began to open barely enough for two speeders to fit through, allowing minimal motion and the ability to quickly close the doors. Unlike the silence of outside, the whole place was as busy as ever on the inside. No one Preliator stood still for too long, as they always had another duty to fulfill in order to optimize their fighting capability. _Danny was right in comparing this place to that big city…New York, if I recall. It never sleeps. _

He glanced over at the Blades. Multiple groups of two or three Preliators worked on the closest dozen air fighters, making sure they were primed and ready to go. If an attack came suddenly, they would be the first ones out of the door. Following them would be the four Titans to spread out and attack any ground forces that attempted to storm the hangar. Three anti-air batteries were set up just in case of an air assault, but they would only do so much. Bren knew the batteries would be relying on air support for that kind of situation.

Most of the crews were around the Blades, but Bren focused his attention on a group standing away from the Blade lineup. The group he was eyeing centered on the figure walking towards him. The black-and-red armor gave him away as Bren's second-in-command, Gage. When Danny and his team left for the Pride Lands, Bren assumed command as the chief security officer and when that happened, Gage was his appointed executive officer. Gage was unquestionably reliable in his tasks, but tended to let his biting sarcasm get on the nerves of most in the facility. He stopped in front of Bren at attention. "Sir, other scouting reports indicate the enemy is nowhere near here. How was your scouting, Chief?"

Bren realized he was still sitting on his bike. He lifted his leg up and stood. "It was good, though I'd rather see the enemy and know for sure that they are there rather than wondering if I missed something."

"That makes two of us," Gage said, humorously.

"What about long range scans?"

The XO winced. "Eh, long range scans are spotty. They're sketchy, at best."

Bren shrugged. "I'll take whatever you got right now."

Pulling up his datapad, Gage observed the data. "What I have is…unusual, I guess. It's just…that…"

The hesitation of his second-in-command got Bren's full attention. Gage hardly ever hesitated in front of him, even when he was making stuff up. "What? What is it that's so unusual about the long-range scans?" This was not like Gage to be _this _confused.

Gage looked Bren in the eyes. "According to what we have, Dasyu's forces are returning to places they've already been to, places that we have record of him sending forces dating a few years back."

_That would explain why he was confused. _Bren frowned at this data. If Dasyu was collecting resources, there would be no reason in returning to the sectors and grids that he had already been to in the past. That _did _make no sense. There were possibilities, but those possibilities would indicate extreme sloppiness in Dasyu. As much as Bren hated the Specter, he had to admit that Dasyu wouldn't let such slip-ups happen. Bren tried to follow the logic in it, and traced back anything that went on during the last few years. The problem was even though he was the chief security officer here, his position in Dasyu's hierarchy was low before he defected.

There was only one way to resolve this. "Gage, can we get a secure channel with Gyro?"

"Yes, sir. Right this way."

Gage led him to the Shadow Room. Walking up the swirling stairs up from the hangar, the two headed up alone. The main corridor was busy with others, at first. But as they got closer and closer to the locked down room, the bustling reached a minimum. That was no surprise since only a few were granted access to the room, and having no access, the majority of the Preliators never bothered to come this way, already knowing their limitations. Soon, they were the only ones when they had reached the door to the Shadow Room.

Bren looked at Gage, who turned around. The XO knew he wasn't granted access unless under emergency situations, and this was not one of them. Bren typed in the key code on the access pad for entry. The door chimed and the light went green. He turned to Gage. "Wait here. Hopefully, this won't take too long."

"Yes, sir. I'll try not to fall asleep on the job," Gage said with a smirk.

Bren just shook his head and entered, sealing the door behind him. He normally, wouldn't do something like this, but the stakes demanded it. He needed answers, and he needed them ready for when Danny returned to the base. Gyro would know more about this sort of stuff than he would, given his proximity to Dasyu and his data terminals.

The minutes for the projector to warm up seemed to go fast, but Bren knew the delay would at least give Gyro a chance to access a terminal and be ready for him. Thankfully, when the screen went active, Gyro had more than enough time to get ready, as he appeared on the screen in front of him.

Gyro seemed nervous and edgy. He looked over his shoulder before looking back at Bren. "Chief, you better make this fast. I don't know if anyone's here who's not on our side, and I can't guarantee security for too long here."

"Alright," Bren said, understanding the need to get to the point. "Do you know any reason as to why Dasyu is bringing his forces back to places he's been to in the last few years?"

Shaking his head, Gyro replied, "I don't know. I do know there's been a lot of activity going on here, but I don't know anything beyond that. Is this something that's concerned Danny?"

"No, it's something that's getting to me. Something seems…off…with this. I mean, why would Dasyu go back there, anyways? Hasn't he gathered all the resources from these areas?"

"I couldn't answer that, Bren…at least, not right now."

Bren nodded. He was hoping Gyro was going to give him something positive to help ease the tension he was feeling. "Do you think you can search up the locations and look into Dasyu's operations and projects for the last six or seven years? See if anything matches with the locations?"

"I'll see what I can do. Can you send me the locations you've found to my terminal here? It would give me a head-start and give you a faster answer."

"Sure." Bren took the datapad that contained the locations and used the connection port to plug into the console's interface. He punched in a few command codes and the transfer went through in seconds. "Alright, it should be there."

Gyro frowned. "No, it's not…oh, wait. There it is." He started typing on his end and it was only a minute before he pulled out a small stick from, what Bren presumed, was the console Gyro was operating on. "Alright, I'll get to work on it, and get back to you when I get another chance." He looked over his shoulder. "I gotta go." Without waiting for a response, the transmission was aborted.

"Nice talking to you too," Bren said, dryly.

Nothing about this sat right with Bren. Dasyu was sending his forces back to spots he had already been to. Some of them were long distances from Facility Three, but most were areas his forces had already gathered available resources from. Was there something he had missed? No, Bren knew his old boss better than that. The remains of those lands were barren wastelands like the way the outside of the old Facility One was. He just couldn't fathom a possible reason for Dasyu to return to these old grid coordinates.

Whether he could think of an answer, he knew that Dasyu was up to something. With the Preliators destroying his convoys, Dasyu couldn't afford to go anywhere without good reason. Either Dasyu was getting desperate, or he had found out something that he had missed before, something that could turn the course of the war.

Bren headed to the door. The problem would have to get solved on Gyro's time unless he figured it out, which probably wouldn't happen. He returned his focus to the next task for the day. Gage would have him updated once he reached the door. Typing in the code, the black-and-yellow striped door slid open and Gage turned his way when the hiss got his attention. "Nice to see you didn't fall asleep, Gage."

"Well, I was getting close, but you were very brief with whatever you had to say with Gyro."

"It was a bad time to contact him, but he'll see what he can dig up for us," Bren said. "What's next on the agenda?"

Again glancing at his datapad, Gage said, "The big notice is from the science wing, in the research and development department. They say they want us down there ASAP."

Bren shrugged, almost seeming carefree. "Alright, lead on."

The two strode through the corridor and back down the same way they came. Bren really was glad that R&D had something for him. He wanted some good news, for a change. If nothing else, it got his mind off of the issue with Dasyu. But that begged another question to his mind: what did R&D have for him that he needed to see? It gave his mind something to wonder. If it was a powerful bomb, then it would solve a lot of problems, beginning and ending with Dasyu. Bren's wishful thinking soon turned to simple contentment. _If it gives us an edge, I'll be happy with that. _

They entered the hangar and stopped as a Titan tank rolled past them, on its way to replace the tank crew outside that was keeping watch. Gage continued to lead Bren across the hangar to the motor pool. Mechanics noticed them, but were too busy with their work to snap to attention. While Gage gave an annoyed look, Bren didn't care. Mechanics were always more concerned about their vehicles rather than their commanders, so their military bearing wasn't known to be the sharpest. What they were definitely known for were their tempers if their vehicles returned damaged. Each one was precious to them, and that was the attitude Bren wanted the most out of them: to treat every tank, rover, and Blade as their own.

After passing the motor pool, they entered a door in the far corner. It led to a small, obsidian-hued corridor, leaving a polished look to it, a complete contrast to the mechanic bay the two just went through. Gage stepped in front of Bren as they came to the third door on the right, and punched in the key code to the department section. The door slid open and the two entered.

Scientists were much like the mechanics when it came to their work: completely focused. The big difference was that they were all focused on one area. Bren couldn't see what they were huddled around, so he and Gage muscled their way through the crowd to the front. Bren reached the front and gazed at what he saw.

It was short and stubby, but clearly thick in size. Wires were still hooked into the computer consoles, monitoring its power input and output ratios. Bren could tell it was a bomb, but what particular kind it was remained a mystery. The weapon hummed like an engine in a low, idle and two coupler rings flashed bright blue every few seconds. As far as he knew, it was the kind that blew up until told otherwise. He decided to find out for sure, and looked for the chief scientist. The one with the only gray armor among the whites was easy to find, the Chief Science Officer. "Chief, what do we have here?"

The CSO smiled and pointed. "We have a bomb."

"Yes, I can see that," Bren flatly replied. "But what type of bomb is it?"

"It's just made it past the concept phase and into the assembly phase, given our limited resources. But this is our first, and probably, _only _electro-magnetic pulse bomb, or EMP warhead."

_Okay, I wasn't expecting that_. Bren suppressed a whistle. They had a decent amount of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, very few high explosive missiles, but they never had an EMP at their disposal. If placed strategically, the bomb could become an uppercut counter-strike. A move like that could catch Dasyu off-guard, at the worst possible time. If used incorrectly, it would be ineffective against Dasyu's forces, or worse, could end up disabling or downing their own vehicles.

Gage almost seemed to read Bren's mind, as he asked the question Bren was about to. "What's the range of the EMP bomb?"

"Given the bomb's overall power output, conversion, and regulation…it has a maximum range of nearly two miles."

A pindrop could be heard over the silence that ensued from that answer. Bren was stunned. This EMP bomb could disable Dasyu's facility and all surrounding security forces in the blink of an eye, leaving the place open for an assault. The war could be over in an hour's time and Dasyu would be finished. Excitement and elation ran through Bren. The light was visible at tunnel's end.

"There is a…noticeable drawback to the bomb, however."

The scientist's statement brought Bren back down to earth. He scowled at the CSO's choice of words. The phrase "noticeable drawback" coming from the mouth of a scientist was a political way of saying "There is a huge problem to the bomb". Bren hung his head before saying, "So what's the drawback?"

"It requires a large power source, unfortunately."

Bren narrowed his eyes. "Okay…we have transports. Could a power core from one work for this bomb?"

"No," the scientist shook his head. "And before you ask, the Titan tanks won't work, either. The tanks aren't compatible, and the transports simply don't have the energy output needed. It is compatible, but the range of the EMP dramatically decreases…about a quarter of a mile, and that's being generous."

The hope Bren had felt rising inside of him began to deflate, and a scowl returned to his face. The scientist's answer had just severely narrowed down the options they had available. "Well, that leaves us with only the main reactor for this facility. It's the only thing powerful enough." He paused, thinking it over. "So…the only realistic strategy would be to face Dasyu in a battle that would force him to bring in as much as he has on hand, and then we blow the EMP and take as many as we can. Not the most reliable plan."

"You also have another problem with that. If the EMP is triggered, it will take out everything else in this place. Even the backup systems will be wiped out, leaving this facility a hulking shell of a mountain."

Gage let his frustration be known as well when he heard this. "You got any more good news?"

"Actually, there is-"

"Shut up!" Gage shouted. "That was a rhetorical question, Chief. Just…shut up."

Bren understood Gage's irritation at this whole report. It was mostly negative for them, but he wanted to hear what else Chief had to say. "Go ahead, Chief. What else were you going to say?"

The CSO gave a nod of thanks to him. "There is an alternative power source. It's in a vehicle, one unique to our assets."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what the science officer was talking about. Bren gaped. "No."

"Yes, sir. The General's ship is the only other power source. It's portable and can be fired away from the facility, alleviating any concern for power loss here. If he could fly it close enough, Preliator could take out Dasyu's last remaining facility and this war would be over."

Bren closed his eyes. He knew the Chief was right, and they all wanted Dasyu's last chance at setting up shop on this planet destroyed, and the EMP was their best chance at a spearhead attack. "Assuming he even agrees to use his ship, firing that EMP would mean that his ship will never be able to be used again, unless we get some rechargeable fuel cells and a ship jump from Dasyu."

"Even then, there's only a chance it will get used again," Gage added in.

"But if the EMP shuts down Dasyu's forces for good, the war will be over and the ship could be one of the few sacrifices we make from this point on. This could be our best shot at ending this."

Bren waved them both down. "It's obvious that we cannot come to this decision right now, but I will discuss this with the General. I doubt he's going to be completely pleased on this, but the decision will have to be his to make, not ours. But as far as I know, I don't think he may want to sacrifice his ship. We can only hope that he'll be willing to make the sacrifice."

Indeed, this would not be an easy decision. Losing the most versatile ship they had would be a tough loss. But if the _**Preliator**_ managed to fire off the EMP at the right time, it could end the threat of Dasyu, making the permanent loss of the ship a worthwhile sacrifice. Bren would have to talk to Danny, but one thing was for sure when he did. Danny would be reluctant at agreeing with this plan.

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><p>The vast landscape provided Tanabi with an excellent view of the northern region of the Pride Lands. The area that sat as the intersecting point between his pride and the pride of Malka's was peaceful, and he was grateful for the wonderful gift the Creator had given him and his family. He was even more grateful for his travelling companion, who walked side-by-side with him. He smiled at Vitani. When he first met her, she was a scrawny, scrappy lioness just fighting to survive in the Outlands. Since returning to the Pride Lands, she and the rest of the old Outsiders were now nourished and in healthy form and Vitani was no exception. She was beautiful, and tended to show a soft side to a few pride members, Tanabi included.<p>

But the one thing that had always caught him about her was her eyes. When he looked into them for the first time, he saw hostility. But he could somehow see it portrayed as a shell to hide what she really felt: pain and anguish. He understood what that was being betrayed by his best friend and on his own for the better part of his life. But he knew what love was like and she didn't, and did his best to show it to the lioness he had begun to show feelings for. Her lavender eyes were unique to the pride, and unique was a quality Tanabi was no stranger to. He tended to take after his surrogate uncle, being very informal and unconventional among his fellow lions. But that informality and unique character gave the two a connection with each other that no one else seemed to have. Her presence helped him feel at ease most of the time on patrols.

Tanabi and Vitani both stopped at a stream to drink some water. It was refreshing, considered the sweltering heat of the day. But then again, that was the typical day in Africa. Vitani finished drinking and decided to start the conversation. "How are you holding up, Tanabi?"

Her companion held a paw up, indicating he wasn't completely done drinking yet. With this heat, he really needed a good amount of cold water to quench his thirst. When he did finish, he smiled at her. "I'm doing much better now, considering this mane of mine doesn't help me much in this heat."

Vitani scratched her ear. "Am I hearing things? The mighty and tough Tanabi is complaining about the heat?"

He smirked at the jibe. "Hey, if you'd know what having a mane is like, you'd understand…and I'm not complaining. I'm…" He paused, trying to think of the right words to say. "…remarking on an important grievance. There's a difference."

She just grinned. "Okay…whatever you say, my prince."

That was a title Tanabi preferred not to hear, but he knew she was just teasing him. However, he was not going to take a teasing shot like that lightly. "I'm glad you've come to an understanding with me, _princess_." While she knew his buttons, he knew a few of hers, as well. Titles just happened to be a hot button both of them had in common.

Interestingly enough, Vitani just kept her cool. "I'll just pretend I didn't I hear that."

"You do that," Tanabi replied.

"How's your father doing?"

Tanabi shrugged. "Alright, considering the load he has to carry as king. With Danny no longer reigning with him, he has the same responsibilities as before, but twice the load. The good thing is that there are no out-of-the-ordinary internal issues, not that I can see, anyways. Mom is usually there to take some pressure off of him when he absolutely needs it, and Kiara and Kovu are brought into the ordeals just to get a taste of what it's going to be like for them."

"What about you?"

Tanabi frowned. That question was unexpected. "What about me?"

"Are you taken on some of these 'ordeals' as you so describe?"

"I'm taken on some, but definitely not as much as those two are. It's mainly because they've been chosen to assume the throne after my parents step down. I'm just one of the pride, but I'll step up if something happens and I'm called to take their place. God-willing, that won't happen."

"God-willing," Vitani reiterated.

"But as far as my father is concerned, I think he's got it easier than everyone makes his duty out to be. There's no threat of rogues, especially with numerous males in the pride. There's no internal division, with the people or the pride. He has backup options, in case he needs a day off from the duties. On top of that, the only large threat we have to worry about is being taken care of by Danny and the Preliators. If there's anyone who's had it real rough, it's Danny."

"How so?"

"Well, he lost his entire family. From what he told me, he and his family were close. He had to endure Scar's reign in the Pride Lands for three years, and we can only imagine what that was like since we weren't even born yet. He has had to deal with the duties and responsibilities of a king, and now, he has to deal with that Dasyu character. I can only imagine he will be at peace when this war is over for him."

Vitani hadn't thought of everything Danny had gone through, and Tanabi had a good point. "I suppose you're right. I have to admire his ability to handle all of this adversity."

"Me too," Tanabi said. He realized they were going off on a tangent, and decided to change to subject. "How's everything with your parents?"

That question wasn't so much of a sensitive area as much as it was an awkward one. Vitani's ear twitched. "Our relationship is progressing. Kovu is doing much better than I am, though. When he's not with Kiara, he spends most of his availability with them to try to make up for lost time. He's healed from Zira's lies a lot faster than I have, and that's part of why I'm slowly spending more time with them with each passing week. But I'll say this for them, they're making every effort to reach out to me, and I feel a close connection with my mother is developing."

"What about you and Zira?" Vitani winced at that question. Tanabi saw it and realized he probably shouldn't have asked that. "You don't have to answer if you'd rather not."

"No, it's okay. It's just…I have forgiven her for what she did. But some of the pain will never go away. Sure, it will lessen as time goes on. But talking to her is something entirely else. When someone lies to you for your entire life, you don't find it easy to talk to them afterwards, not without a sense of bitterness towards them." Her voice started to crack. "I just wish things could've been normal, and not the way they are now. It's like there's a beginning, an end, but no…" She couldn't finish her statement, as she was fighting hard not to sob.

Tanabi was definitely regretting asking her that question. He should've known better to go that deep. He came up to her and brushed his nose across her face. He knew that if he were any other male lion, he probably would've gotten swiped, but he also knew that Vitani wouldn't do that to him. She needed some support in this, and did his best to comfort her. "I know things are rough now. Believe me, I would've liked to have the three years that I was gone back to me. The pain I felt from Nuka betraying me was worse than any physical pain I could've ever endured. My problem with recovering was that I was on my own, and really had few to talk to. It was a depressing time, but when I returned here, I had family to help me get back to normal." He paused, and waiting for her to look into his eyes. "And…I have you with me."

She smiled. "Thank you. But at least you don't have to deal with the awkwardness I have to deal with when I'm around Zira."

The red-maned lion closed his eyes. "You're right, because I have to deal with something far worse." When she frowned, he explained. "Zira is still alive, but Nuka is dead. I don't have the chance to face him, forgive him, and regain the friendship we had lost. Yes, he betrayed me, but I would've forgiven him and see if we could regain the friendship we once had. That's never gonna happen now."

He felt emptiness creep back into him as he remembered his old friend, and did his best not to cry, but a sniff did escape him. Vitani returned the comforting affection he gave her. "I understand how you feel, Tanabi, and I _do _appreciate all you've done for me with this. No matter how bad I may feel, when I'm with you, it's as though all my problems fade away."

Tanabi and Vitani had a connection that very few others in the pride would understand. They both had been robbed of the early part of their lives, and both had few to socialize with. It was a rough life for them, and they found each other's presence soothing and at peace with the adversity they had gone through. Now, they were trying to cope with the internal peace and learn to acclimate themselves to what they had lost for three years.

That connection was a big reason why Tanabi was attracted to her. Nuzzling her back, he said, "The feeling is mutual, and I'm really glad you come with me on my patrols. It makes me happy to be with you and it definitely keeps me from getting bored all day."

To his surprise, and his chagrin, Vitani pulled back. She looked at him with seductive eyes and a sly smile. "Well, since you put it that way, would you like to…have some fun?" She slowly slinked toward him.

Tanabi slowly backed up. The lion had an idea of what she was getting at, and could feel excitement start coursing through his body. He felt his cheeks burn, and he did a poor job at disguising his nervousness. His heart was beating so hard that he felt as though it was going to beat its way out of his rib cage. "W-What kind of fun?"

She brought her mouth up to his ear and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Well, I was thinking of…this."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head toward his. Tanabi realized her intentions were to kiss and he closed his eyes and leaned in. Vitani took that moment to open hers and charged him. Using his unawareness to her advantage, she pushed as hard as she could. Her trick worked, and a surprised Tanabi was sent into the stream they had taken a drink out of.

Tanabi hit the water with a large splash. He immediately felt cold water contact his body and got up as quickly as he could. He got out of the water and stepped onto the grass. His entire body was soaked in water, and his mane was now flat and matted. The shocked look on his face was enough to send Vitani into a fit of laughter. He was so surprised and upset that he couldn't even form a statement at her. "You…you…"

When she stopped laughing, Vitani winked at him. "Look on the bright side. At least your mane won't be the reason for your complaints about the heat for a little while. Catch me if you can." She took off into the field, still staying with their assigned area to patrol.

Once he shook out the water, Tanabi let his fur settle as he watched her scamper through the field. "As good as our connection is, this relationship is still gonna be complicated." He smiled when she stopped to see if he was following her. _But I think I'm starting to love her_. As he went out after her, Tanabi thought of asking Danny for help on this, but then dismissed that idea, as the human would probably laugh at him as well.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Stay tuned for the next one.<strong>


	8. Who turned the heat up?

**Here's my next chapter. PLEASE read this author's note first. I'd like to give everyone an update on what's been going on for me. Some of you whom I talk personally with know that I am with the National Guard. Because of Hurricane Sandy, I haven't been able to focus on my writing that much. I was saving this chapter in order to stay at least a chapter ahead to post each one in a timely manner, but with recent events, that has changed. I can't guarantee how soon I'll get the next chapter up because I don't know how long I will be in my present location providing relief to the Sandy victims. I hope that clears some things up with you. As for the chapter, enjoy!**

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><p>The day was starting to wear down on Simba. He had a fairly productive morning, taking care of most duties going on in the kingdom. However, as the morning progressed into day and the sun rose higher and higher into the blue sky, the heat quickly rose with it. The burning temperature began beating down on him relentlessly. He had to stop almost every time between assignments at one of the waterholes. It was definitely hotter than normal in Africa, and the king did not like any of it. Part of him was strongly considering jumping into a waterhole just to get a moment's break from the heat.<p>

But he had a more important problem, one that was more consistent than the heat he had been dealing with. The pride of the people was starting to grow into a problem. First, they had been praising Simba and Danny for what they had done; that was one thing. The other issue to that were also the comments of invincibility, as though they had forgotten the past altogether. Already, rumors of complacency had been surfacing. Based on conversations with some of those being careless, it was from their pride at believing they were untouchable; it was as though Danny or Simba would magically come to their rescue if they ended up in trouble. Granted, the people's pride wasn't the downfall of the Pride Lands when Scar took over nor was it responsible for the battle for the Pride Lands last year. However, arrogant pride would lead to cockiness, and that had the potential to be dangerous. Confidence was a good thing to have, but cockiness was asking to have your knees cut out from under you.

_I've got to figure out how to deal with that, _Simba thought as he stopped to rest under the shade of some trees. It was a cooling reprieve from the harsh heat, and it helped him recollect his thoughts. The people aside, the pride had enough stories of its own. The big story for the last few months was that Shani and Aziza were pregnant, much to everyone's joy. Chumvi and Mheetu were new to being fathers, so they were very nervous about this. Tojo, already being a father, had given them as much advice as he could, and even Simba gave them a few tips to remember.

Then there was his family. Simba smiled as he thought of his three children. Kopa, now over a year old, was still as exuberant as he usually was. The big difference was that he was beginning to understand the way the kingdom was run, and was excited to learn the duties of being a king. He reminded Simba a lot of the way he was as a cub, always excited to be among the line to be a king. Simba had explained to Kopa that he would be third in line, and he accepted it. But that didn't deter his enthusiasm to learn the ways of being a king. Simba planned on taking him on royal duties when he felt the cub was ready.

Kiara was definitely showing signs of growing into her role as the future queen of the Pride Lands. She was still a playful, cheery lioness that she always was, but she was demonstrating great wisdom in her decision-making. No matter how many times she complained about the royal lessons, she was paying attention. Kovu definitely completed her, showing seriousness and the ability to help enforce her rulings on cases and issues around the kingdom.

That left Tanabi. The elder of Simba's sons was a lion version of Danny: informal and smart-mouthed. He had no ambitions of ruling the kingdom, but he didn't complain about the royal lessons from his father. Another good trait that Tanabi somehow inherited from his uncle was his willingness to step up in case something went wrong.

Simba smiled at the thought of how Tanabi's love life was like. "I'm glad I'm not in his position."

If it was one thing Tanabi had to face since returning, it was the number of the young lionesses who were ecstatic that an unattached lion had entered the pride, and Simba's son as a plus. But it seemed like he didn't have to take long to choose someone he was attracted to. Simba had noticed that Tanabi was spending more and more time with Vitani, the onetime Outsider. They seemed to enjoy each other's company and bring out the best in each other when they were together. Though Vitani may have not been who Simba would have liked to see his son be married to one day, he trusted his son's judgment.

He heard some droning in the distance. He didn't even have to see the cloud of dust in the distance to know that it was Danny on his speeder bike. Simba had no doubt that Danny was either looking for someone or just going out for a joyride around the Pride Lands. _I hope he's having a better time today than I am._ Even in the shade, Simba still found it very hot, and he was starting to consider calling it a day and trying to reconvene with the other herds, packs, and coalitions at another time.

While Simba was resting, he saw a small bird beginning to descend to his location. It was Zazu, his majordomo and longtime friend. The blue hornbill glided down to a perch on the tree Simba was taking shade under. He bowed to the king. "Good day, sire. How are you?"

The lion smiled. "I've had cooler days, Zazu."

"That makes two of us, Your Majesty." His feathers ruffled. "The one good thing about flying is that the air provides a temporary reprieve from the heat."

"And of that, I envy you," Simba replied. "So what have you got for me?"

"Other than the morning report, there isn't much else I have for you, sire. However, I have been checking up on some of the people, and I'm finding a rather unusual trend developing among them."

Simba suppressed the urge to wince. "Let's hear it." _Even though I'm pretty sure what this is going to be._

"Well, after the morning report, I headed off to check up on other areas of the Pride Lands. I stopped to see a relatively new herd of elephants in the Pride Lands and asked them how they were doing. They were talking of our General, Danny. They said they had never been so happy in their lives because the General protected them from the outsiders, and that they would never have to worry about a land with outside threats again."

That last word from Zazu worried Simba. It gave the impression that, in their view, the peace would reign forever. Only the naïve and foolhardy would believe such a thing. "Yeah, that sounded like what I've been seeing as well. Did anyone else sound like that?"

Zazu nodded his head, almost robotically. "I did notice this in other people as well. I met up with a leopard named Kafil, someone who I've kept in touch with over the years. In the past, I have seen him to be a vigilant watcher of the border where he resides. If trouble comes, he is quick and energetic to deliver the message to me to relay to you. Today, I found him relaxing in a tree. While everyone deserves a good break, I noticed a change in his attitude. Kafil seemed…lethargic, for want of a better term besides lackadaisical. I asked him how things were going and if he noticed anything unusual in his watches. He said that he hadn't gone on a watch for weeks except for what he could see from his tree."

"Really?" Simba asked, interested since he hadn't seen this sort of behavior with the other people.

"Yes, sire. Usually, he's very energetic to take on this task and keep a sharp eye out for us. When I asked Kafil why he hadn't gone on a watch, he told me that because Danny was doing such an excellent job in keeping the war away from our home, coupled with the Outsiders rejoining the pride last year, he felt that he didn't need to be constantly on watch. At least, that's how he put it."

"Could this be an aberration on his part?" Simba asked.

"I can only hope and wonder at that," Zazu said, looking sorry that he couldn't come up with a better answer. "This is uncharacteristic of him to act like this. He also mentioned to me that this isn't the first time he had taken extended time off, stating that it was not his official job to watch the borders."

Simba frowned. This was not good. Now there were reports of people becoming lazy from their arrogance. It would be a very bad situation if Dasyu's forces drove through here, because the people would be so huffed up from their pride that the shock of them arriving would lead to them fighting very poorly against the enemy, if at all. "What did you say to him?"

Zazu shrugged. "I told him to keep a sharp eye out in case an enemy does come too close to the borders. He said 'Sure, whatever.'"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Simba said, "At this rate, we would need Danny to speak to the people to convince them to do their jobs."

"I agree. The people seem to view the General as a god," Zazu said.

Simba chuckled. "Danny would be the first to tell them that he is far from a god, and never implied that he was one. If it wasn't for the events that happened since he came here, he probably would just be known as the man with the pride of lions."

The droning noise returned to Simba's ears. He looked behind him to see a cloud of dust kicking up in the distant field. It was apparent that the cloud was heading his way, indicating that Danny had either found Simba or was just heading in his direction, probably the latter since his brother's eyesight wasn't _that _good. Still the monocular Danny carried might've helped. As Danny approached, he was going to head slightly away from Simba and Zazu, but soon the speeder bike was changing directions directly towards them. Simba looked up at his majordomo. "Speak of the devil."

"And the devil appears," Zazu retorted.

"Sounds like you've caught on to Danny's antics," Simba said, jokingly.

Zazu gave another shrug. "I guess after all these years, some of his…informalities has rubbed off on me."

As Danny came closer, it was clear that he had brought Zainabu with him. No surprise to either of them, since he tried to spend as much time with her as possible. As they came to a stop, Simba noticed that Danny's attire was different. He wore jean shorts and a piece of clothing he called a "tanktop." The only norm was the pistol he sported on his hip. Zainabu was wearing one of Danny's shirts since she didn't have much herself, which looked very baggy on her. She also wore some baggy pants, but they were held up with one of Danny's belts.

Danny powered down the bike and took off the safety glasses he wore. "Hey, Simba, Zazu. What's going on?"

"We were just talking. I'm also taking in some shade because this is a really hot day."

"Why do you think I'm wearing a tanktop and shorts? I'm baking out here."

"I hear that," Simba said. "So what are you two up to?"

Danny wrapped his arm around Zainabu's waist. "We were just going for a joyride. The wind helps cool us down a little, but we were thinking of going for a swim soon."

"I may actually join you on that. I'm thinking of taking the day off because this heat is really taking a toll on me. A cool-down would be nice."

Looking at Zainabu, Danny asked, "What do you think, honey?"

She smiled. "I don't have a problem with it. Not that we can say no to the king, anyways."

They all shared a laugh. It was moments like these that they cherished, since they weren't exactly common in the past year. Danny looked back at Simba. "If you don't mind my asking, what were you both talking about?"

Both king and majordomo exchanged glances with each other before Simba answered him. "We were just hearing more reports of the people being arrogant at your accomplishments. Zazu reported some people believing that they'll never face danger again with your efforts on the war. One, in particular, is a watcher of an area along the borders. He hasn't been doing much watching because he believes no enemy will come near here as long as you are."

"Yes, he's been very careless in what little he was charged with," Zazu added in.

"I know we've just spoken about it a few days ago, but it _is _a growing concern."

Danny frowned at this news. He was hoping it would just be a simple phase of joy from the people, but this was something else. It dawned on him that Simba would need his help in the near future, but that would he difficult while he was away, fighting the war. "I can't fault you for your concern. If this war does come to our front doorstep, the people will need to be ready to fight back. With this kind of attitude, they won't last very long."

"Too right, Danny," Zazu replied. "But what can we do?"

"Danny could go with Simba on his duties and put things in perspective for them," Zainabu suggested.

"That could work," Zazu responded, pessimistically. "However, that would only gain effectiveness in small increments."

"I agree with Zazu," Simba said. "Probably the best way would be for the people to be gathered to hear from Danny. After all, if they so highly praise the General, then they would listen. This would come especially if I ordered it."

Danny cupped his chin. "That's not a bad idea. Problem is that I'm going to be heading back soon to prepare for my meeting with Dasyu. Would it be too much to set it up sometime after I get back?"

"That should be more than enough time for me, but I would prefer that you do it before you left."

The king's words carried an edge to it, but Danny maintained his composure. "I understand, but I think it's best to play this out a little. Besides, the people are happy that they have peace. That's something most of us haven't had a consistent amount of. Can you blame them?"

Simba narrowed his eyes. It seemed as though Danny was trying to dodge this idea or stall it off, at least. "That is dereliction masquerading as reason."

"He's right, you know," Zazu spoke. "We all want this issue to be resolved now, but you would be more content to let this issue grow bigger and turn into an epidemic."

Danny pointed at Simba. "This is not dereliction at all. This is prudent patience. For all we know, this could just be a phase the people are going through. This has only been reported for how long? A week? Two, tops?"

They were all silent.

That was enough for the human. He knew that Simba would need help. However, given their relative positions, Danny believed this was something Simba could, and should, take care of by himself. "It's not long enough to be considered an epidemic, and if this had been going on for at least a month, then I would have a hearing tomorrow. Now, if I come back and it's the same or worse than what you've already seen, then I will take care of it and make sure the hammer smashes this issue flat, figuratively speaking. If it's dying down, then we'll be fine. I've already said that I'll talk to them after I get back in roughly two weeks. I don't think that's too much time to ask for, is it?"

Simba didn't like this, but Danny did have some points. He also was trying to focus on taking Dasyu down and anything else had to be put aside, for the moment. _He might also be right about the people going through a phase. If not, we could be in for some friction among the people and the pride._ He sighed. "Alright, I'll be sure to schedule the hearing as soon as you get back."

"Sounds fair," Danny said, feeling thankful that this subject was adjourned for the time. He spotted a nearby waterhole and smiled. "What do you say we go for a swim now? This heats affecting all of us and our attitudes."

"I couldn't agree more," Zainabu said happily.

"I'll be off now," Zazu said, spreading his wings. "I have a few more duties to accomplish today before retiring to my nest." With that, he flew off and headed for the western border.

Danny powered on the speeder bike as Zainabu got on and wrapped her arms around him. Facing the waterhole, it was about 200 yards away. He glanced at Simba. "Would you like me to give you a ten-second head-start, brother? See who can reach it first?"

"You're the one who needs the help, Danny," Simba quipped, readying for a sprint.

That comment made Danny laugh. "I've got a speeder bike that can easily outrun you and I'm not even expending any energy. Why would I need th-hey! No fair, you jerk!" As he was speaking, Simba swiped some sand up at Danny's face. Zainabu saw it and turned her head in time to avoid it, but Danny was too busy bragging that he didn't even notice the cheap shot.

Simba took the opportunity to take off and make a mad dash for the waterhole. Danny was taking some water from his canteen and splashed it in his face to get the sand out of his eyes. They were immediately sore from the gritty element and it took him a few moments to be able to see without blinking constantly. When he could, Simba was already half-way to the waterhole. Danny gunned the engines, ignoring the laughter from his wife behind him and trying to beat Simba to the pool.

_Nothing like some brotherly competition_, Danny thought.

* * *

><p>Back at Pride Rock, most of the pride had decided not to venture out away from their home. Given the extreme heat and the still-large amount of food from the hunt with Danny, they felt like relaxing for the day. The only time anyone left was either to get a drink from the closest waterhole or to take a short walk. The obvious exceptions were the Sentinels. They had their duties to undertake regardless of the weather conditions, so they had it the worst in terms of the day. The king also had his duties, so he would not be near Pride Rock for a little bit.<p>

However, two lions decided to take a walk on the shaded area of Pride Rock. The two who decided to brave the heat were the queen, Nala, and Mheetu. Growing up, Mheetu was one of Nala's closest friends, to the point of considering him her brother. They had known each other since birth and usually hung out when Simba was with his father. When Scar's reign came, most of Nala's friends were moved to safe locations, including Mheetu. Other than Danny, she didn't really have any other childhood friends with her the whole way through. Aziza and Shani were about as close as she got, but they didn't share the same childhood connection that she had with Mheetu and the others. But being able to spend time with her closest friend aside from Simba was a true joy to her.

Normally, Mheetu would be with Shani. However, Shani was dealing with symptoms of her pregnancy. The addition of the added heat made her very tired, so Mheetu suggested that she go to sleep. This left some time for him to catch up with Nala and how things were going on her end.

They headed to the backside of Pride Rock, since the sun still hadn't risen to its highest extent. One key thing the two lions needed to make sure of was their clear visibility to others. Meeting in a secluded area would draw about unwanted suspicion, and the last thing they needed was some more internal conflict and gossip being spread around.

"So how is life going as queen of the Pride Lands?" Mheetu asked.

Nala lay down, resting her head on her paws. "It's going good. I'm usually making sure Kopa is staying out of trouble, and Timon and Pumbaa don't always help with that."

The cream-furred lion laughed. "I always found them as comedians more than babysitters. It's like asking a bird to swim underwater."

"Tell me about it," Nala said, laughing lightly. "In other areas, I do assist Simba in rulings and take his place when he needs a day to rest, usually a day a week. It helps his job go a little more smoothly. However, it's putting more stress as the lead huntress." She let out an exasperated sigh, though Mheetu understood it was a reflection of how tiring a leadership role can be. "I may hand off the duties to Kiara soon. She's almost done with her training for her eventual ascension to the throne, and it'll be time for her to take on the duties. Having it given to her before she becomes queen could help her understand the responsibilities that go hand-in-hand with the power of leadership."

Mheetu nodded. It definitely seemed like a good idea to get her started early and avoid getting overwhelmed. "Kiara's probably ready to take on the role, but I would advise you appoint Vitani as second lead huntress. Out of all of the younger lionesses, I think she's the most capable to shoulder the burden of leading the hunting party."

"Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in consideration." Nala lifted her head up. "How about you, Mheetu? How's life with Shani?"

"We're getting along real well. I greatly enjoy being with her when I come back from the war. We exchange what goes on when the other is gone. She tells me how the hunting is going, what drama unfolds among the pride, any news when the queen says she has an idea." He winked at her.

She gave him a lopsided smile. "Ha ha, very funny."

Mheetu bowed. "My most sincere thanks for the compliment, Your Highness."

"Shut up."

He laughed. "Anyhow, I tell her about what goes on about the war. What we've done, where we go on missions, who annoyed me. She finds it very interesting, and always asks curious questions, sometimes the same question more than once."

"Speaking of annoying, I hear that you and Tojo are having trouble with one of the people Danny recruited. Is this true or is this a rumor?"

Mheetu cringed. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about. He was sure Nala knew that, which was why she didn't ask him whether or not he wanted to bring it into the conversation. She asked him a question where he had to explain. If it were any other lioness aside from Shani, he would change the subject. But this was one of his childhood friends not to mention being the queen. _I hate it when she does this_, he thought. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes, this is true. It's not just one person, though it is directed at the leader, for the most part. It's every single Specter Danny has recruited upon their defection."

"So, it's all of them?"

Mheetu sat on his haunches. "Yes, and I just don't trust them. As far as I'm concerned, I don't look at them as Preliators like Danny does. I believe he's a little too trusting."

Nala cocked her head. "Well, what would you be doing if Danny didn't recruit them? Do you think you'd be able to take on Dasyu with just the Preliators from the pride?"

"We've done it before."

"True, but you had the element of surprise then. They know you're coming for them now. I also recall that you were all killed, even with that advantage." She paused, as she considered something else. "Also, didn't one of them…what was his name? Bren? Yeah, Bren saved your lives escaping from Dasyu, right? I think you should be grateful to him."

"Granted, but I feel as though it was just a way to get in on the inside and rip us apart when we least expect it. I don't want to see us lose the war, and I don't want to see the Pride Lands fall."

Nala got and walked to him, placing a paw on his. "I know you do, but sometimes you have to be willing to trust someone enough to fight beside them. I understand your concerns and distrust about Bren and the recruits, but you have to extend enough slack to give them a chance to prove themselves."

Mheetu groaned. He knew a part of her was right, but he still couldn't let go of his instinctive feeling. Something seemed amiss with Bren and his people. "I appreciate your input, Nala, and your thoughts are duly noted. Can we change the subject please?"

The blue-eyed lioness realized that there was no point in pushing this any further, so she let it be and nodded. "Alright. How's Shani doing with the pregnancy?"

"She says she close to childbirth, but she's not giving an exact date for me."

Nala smirked. "She really likes to tease you."

"When does she not? I still find it ironic that we're married, considering that we didn't get out to a good start. If it weren't for Danny intervening on my behalf, it would've stayed that way."

"Yeah, that was an interesting development." Nala hesitated about what she was going to ask next, and then asked it. "If you don't mind my asking, what would you have done if Danny didn't intervene?"

Mheetu thought real careful about that. He was pretty certain of what he would've done given how Shani had treated him. He certainly wasn't the type to go complaining about something unless it threatened someone's safety and that was not the case with him and his mate. "Truthfully, if nothing was done about it, I would've ran away from the pride and live my life as a rogue." He saw her eyes widen when she heard that. "Trust me, I didn't want to, but I also wouldn't have been able to take her harassment while living her, either."

Her expression relaxed a little at his explanation. "Well, I'm glad you didn't and I'm glad Danny did help you."

"It took a lot of shoving, smacking, and tackling for him to help."

Nala's eyebrows shot up. "What!? Who was doing that, you or him?"

Mheetu cleared his throat. "Gee, it's getting hot out here. Whaddya say we head back to the cave?"

"That's not fair!"

Before anything else could be said, Mheetu was saved by an awkward arrival. Coming around the bend was Tavira and Shoshanna. Apparently, Nala and Mheetu weren't the only ones who wanted to go for a walk. The two lionesses were in deep conversation, but as they came closer, the queen could make out what they were talking about. The subject of their conversation was her son, Tanabi. She did her best not to groan. This was something all the young lionesses talked about, and Nala was approached by almost every mother about having Tanabi courting their daughter. It was tiresome, and she did her best to avoid further conversations in that department.

"And I've made sure to keep myself groomed very well, especially after hunts. You know how dirty we all get at the end of those," Tavira said, carefully examining herself as she strode.

Shoshanna seemed to be in agreement. "I know, right? I mean, how's Tanabi going to notice us if we don't keep up with a prim appearance?"

"We just have to give him some time, and he'll start to notice us. But it's all about treating us right."

_Don't count on it, girls, _Nala thought, though she almost said it out loud. Shoshanna was a nice girl, while Tavira was extremely prissy. Danny had described her as high-maintenance, a "human" term for someone who would take a lot of work just to please. It didn't matter to Nala. Neither lioness in front of her would be good match and Tanabi was already interested in Vitani.

The lionesses got closer, and noticed they were not alone. When they also noticed that one of them was the queen, they cut their conversation short and bowed. "Oh, my Queen. I didn't know you were out here. We were just talking about your son, ma'am."

"So I gathered. Mheetu and I were just catching up on current events with each other."

Tavira cocked her head. "I didn't know you two were close."

"Well, that tends to happen when you spend years together in a pride. It's really hard to forget each other after all these years. That, and the fact that Mheetu and I have been childhood friends since birth. Probably would've been better had it not been for Scar."

"Oh, that explains it." Tavira sounded as though it didn't bother her. She looked back at Shoshanna before back at Nala. "We just wanted to say that you have a wonderful son. He truly is something special and you did a great job raising him."

Nala forced a smile. "Well, thank you, sweetheart." _Even though he did most of the raising, not me._

"Do you think you would be able to let him know we would like to spend some time with him?"

Mheetu was expecting her to brush them off, but he was surprised at her cheery voice. "Absolutely, girls. I'll see what I can do, but he's on patrols right now. I won't be seeing him until later."

"Thank you," Tavira said, and bowed along with Shoshanna. When the queen returned the bow, Tavira looked to a distant waterhole and back. "Well, we'll be going now, Your Highness. It's a hot day and we could use a drink."

"I hear that," Nala said. "Have a nice day."

"You too," Shoshanna replied.

Mheetu and Nala watched the two lionesses walk away from them. Nala finally let out a shudder of disgust as soon as they were out of earshot. She hated having to do that, but it annoyed her to have to play messenger to these girls, not that she was going to carry out that task.

Her companion cringed. "Ugh, seeing either one of those two with Tanabi is disturbing."

"I couldn't agree more," came her reply.

Mheetu did a double-take. "Wait. I thought you were going to talk to Tanabi about them?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Don't tell me you bought that?"

He shrugged. "You sounded very genuine there…could've fooled me."

"Just an act, Mheetu. If they want to talk to Tanabi, then they can do it themselves. But they'll find out that he's not interested in them at all, and I'm not sure whose shoulder they're gonna cry on."

Mheetu cringed again. "It certainly won't be mine. I just don't see Tanabi and Tavira together. However, I could see a long shot, and I emphasize long shot, of Shoshanna making it with Tanabi, assuming things don't work out with Vitani."

"It'll take Africa to freeze over before that happens." Nala's blue eyes sparkled. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, you were going to tell me who hit who. You or Danny?"

Mheetu gulped. "On second thought, maybe I should join those two for a drink. They might need protection, after all."

* * *

><p><strong>For the curious, I'm trying to get some backdrop for those still living life in the Pride Lands. It may not all have any point now, but it will come full circle in the end here. Hope you liked it and please send me a review. Your input would be greatly appreciated!<strong>


	9. Family Matters

**Hey, everyone! Long time no speak. Sorry for the loooooonnnggg delay. If you want to know what took so long since the last update, feel free to PM me. That being said, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

><p>"What do you mean I need to lose a few pounds? I'm patrolling everyday."<p>

"Heh…that's not the problem. You've been sneaking an extra pound or two from the kills brought back from the hunts, Kovu."

Tojo and Kula had brought their son and daughter out for a walk by the river. Kula had suggested they spend the day together as a family, and Tojo agreed that it would be a fun time with Kovu and Vitani. That is, until Tojo and Kovu got into the discussion on the life of a sentinel guardian. That's when it went to taking shots at each other. It wasn't anything harmful; just joking. Kula and Vitani just watched in amusement as the two males squabbled between each other. To them, this was their entertainment for the day.

Kovu smirked. "Whatever, old man. Let's see if being lighter helps."

Before Tojo could retort, he soon felt the impact from Kovu shoving him into the ground. The sudden hit caught Tojo off guard, and he went face first into the ground. He rolled to a stop and let the momentum shift him back up on his feet. It took him a moment to process what just happened. _My son just knocked me to the ground?_ He looked back at Kovu, and cocked his head. "Okay…"

Tojo jumped back at Kovu and began to wrestle. While Kovu saw the attack coming coming, he couldn't hold his ground, and his hind legs were driven back. Even though Tojo was eight years old, his new form gave him rejuvenation. It made him feel like he was about Kovu's age. Tojo kept pushing, getting underneath Kovu's weight to maintain his edge. What the elder lion lacked in youthful energy, he made up for in experience and technique. Even though he was exerting a lot of energy, Tojo managed to speak through gritted teeth. "Who's the old man now?"

Kovu managed to club his father in the side, shifting some of the push off of him and enabling him to regain his balance. It gave him the chance to push off and face him again. Green locked with blue as the two lions stared each other down. Kovu felt his instincts take over and he began looking for any holes in his father's defense. Problem was, he couldn't find much. Tojo was squarely facing him and sidestepping to keep from showing a side profile. Kovu smirked. "It's nice to see you still got some fight in you, Dad."

"I've had plenty of practice to keep me sharp," Tojo replied. His eyes shot above Kovu for a split-second. "Then there are some extra tricks up my sleeve." He clicked his tongue.

"What kind of—ow! What the heck?" He screamed as a bunch of sharp pricks of pain forked his neck. Kovu backed up and swatted away at whatever was using his head as a wood board. He couldn't look up because it was relentless, and didn't want to for fear of getting poked in the eye. He heard his father click his tongue twice and the pecking stopped and the pain began to regress. What he saw next stunned him.

Two blue birds flew over his head towards Tojo. Kovu couldn't tell what birds they were, but he could tell that they had no fear of his father. In fact, it looked like they had some sort of attachment to him. _Just when I thought I had seen everything…_ He remembered the pain in his head and his father making clicking noises that started and stopped it. "You had them attack me?"

Tojo nodded as the birds set down on his back. "It took some time to teach them, but they seem to have it down."

Kovu couldn't contain the anger in his voice. "That's not fair!"

"Like I said, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. One of them is a competitive edge."

"Commonly known as cheating," Kovu quipped.

Tojo just shrugged. "I'm old-school, big guy. You gotta learn to fight dirty in some cases. That's a free lesson in life experience."

Over to the side, they observed the two females. Kula was laughing while Vitani was as confused as Kovu. She had never seen any birds come close to the pride unless it was Zazu or a clan flight leader. These two birds seem to have an unusual connection with her father, and it left her in a baffled state. Nevertheless, she wore a smile on her face. "Dad? Do you know these two birds? And why are they on your back?"

Tojo walked over to his daughter and sat down. He stuck his paw out for the birds to perch on. "This is Ne and Touca. When I was a cub, I found two eggs near the main waterhole. When they hatched, I was the first thing they saw. Since then, they've had an attachment to me and I've always taken care of them. Even during Scar's reign, they managed to find me with King Jabari and have been with me ever since." He looked back to the two chirpers. "This past year, they've been away for some time. My guess is they're looking for a tree to nest in."

"Do they talk?" she asked.

"No, they've never talked. I tried teaching them when I was a cub, but I think certain sequences of events ruined any chance of them learning."

Her curiosity peaked, Vitani frowned. "What events?"

Tojo's smile disappeared. "Mufasa's death and Scar's reign."

Vitani realized the answer to her question even before her father answered. _I should never have answered that question._ Even though her parents weren't around for most of the reign, it didn't mean the travesty of those dark years had no effect on them. It was clear that the birds were scarred from those events as well to the point that their ability to speak was lost permanently. They could still chirp and tweet, but verbal communication was a lost art to them with no hope of recovery. She felt the heat rise in her face, and probably the color too. "I'm sorry, Father. I didn't mean to bring that up."

Tojo blinked, looking surprised that she said that. He smiled and gave her a loving embrace. "No, Vitani. It's a memory to me, nothing more. It's not a fresh mental wound like it was years ago. The pain's definitely faded from the excruciation it once was."

The lavender-eyed lioness nodded and looked back up at him. "But it never goes away, does it?"

That question caught Tojo in the throat. She wasn't just referring to the incident he and Kula went through, she was referring to what happened to all of them. When Zira had kidnapped her and Kovu, three years was robbed from the family, and it left a scar in all of them. The pain had subsided since they were reunited, but a lot of awkwardness kept the pain from healing faster. Vitani had a point to this. Even if the pain did fade, it never would go away; they could never regain the lost time. It wasn't fair, but it was life.

"No, it doesn't," Tojo answered, sounding sober. "We've all been through a lot here. That's why I'm fighting with Danny and the others so we don't have to face that same situation again. It's a fortunate thing that the Pride Lands have not been directly affected by the war, but it's always a possibility."

"Is that why you're having trouble with some of the people you're fighting alongside?" Kovu asked.

"How'd you hear about that?"

Kovu smiled glumly. "Father, word travels fast in the pride, in case you haven't noticed."

The elderly lion shrugged. "I suppose it does." He sighed, wondering if he wanted to talk about this. While he did believe that this was his own business, he was trying to find every possible chance to spend time with his children. It was hard enough losing three years, but the war took away even more time from his family. He decided it was worth talking about. He sat down and scratched at the ground, trying to explain things in a simple manner. "I have been having a hard time working with all of the people Danny has managed to recruit from the enemy, especially the leader of the bunch. He goes by the name of Bren. I don't trust them because I don't believe they are what they say they are."

Kovu narrowed his eyes. "You think at least one of them is a spy?"

"I think it would be foolish not to assume that." Tojo sat up and started to pace back and forth. He glanced over to the Pride Lands. It may have been a hot day, but the place they called home was still a serene sight. Countless flocks, herds, and packs went about their normal day, unconcerned about outside dilemmas. Tojo focused on a pack of rhinos laying down near a small creek bed, with a bunch of birds resting on top of them. He pointed to them. "Vitani, Kovu, take a look at that. Tell me what you see?"

The two siblings walked over to him. They looked down at the mixed crowd their father was looking at. They gazed at them, not sure what he was getting at. Vitani finally answered. "I see some of the people relaxing for the day. What are you getting at, Father?"

"So they look peaceful, right?"

"Right."

Tojo nodded. "Okay, now picture that as though it was part of the Outlands; barren wasteland instead of vegetation, skeletal systems instead of live people." He looked at their expressions and could tell they got the picture. "Most of the others will say that Mheetu and I have trust issues, and maybe that is the case. But I believe it's better to have that issue than to turn a blind eye on the people working with us. I fear that they will stab us in the back…and leave the Pride Lands defenseless against the onslaught they'd certainly bring."

"Danny seems to trust them," Kovu said.

"Yeah, but he can be _too _trusting at times." Tojo respected Danny's decision to recruit help when it was available, but that didn't mean Tojo had his suspicions. The one thing Bren had going for him was that he saved Tojo's life when everyone escaped from Facility One the year before. "Your mother and I have seen the destruction caused by Scar so many years ago. It was an internal problem that ripped everything apart from the inside out. I don't want to see that happen again."

He smiled as he turned to look at both of them. "I love you both very much, and want the very best for you. I just don't trust everyone wholeheartedly over there because I don't know if they're setting us up or not."

Both Kovu and Vitani smiled. "Thanks, Father," Vitani replied, warmly. "But have the people Danny's recruited done anything to think they're up to something?"

Frowning, Tojo replied, "To be honest, no, they haven't. They may be very good at hiding their intentions, however."

Instead of getting an answer from his children, it was his mate, Kula, who spoke. "Or they're being honest with you in that they have had an equal dislike of Dasyu same as you, Tojo. Maybe what you need to do is to relax and not be so uptight to them."

The birds, who had been sitting on Tojo's shoulders all this time, began to chirp. Tojo smirked. "I guess they seem to agree with you on this."

The dark lioness laughed. "It's because they know good advice when they hear it."

Tojo chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll work on things, but I'm still gonna be keeping watch."

"Nothing wrong with that," Kovu said, winking. "It at least makes up for your weaknesses."

"Maybe, I guess." He brought his head up when his brain processed what his son said. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just old age and the like," Kovu said, nonchalantly.

"Why you little…" Dust kicked up as the two males resumed their fighting and the females their laughing.

* * *

><p>The sun shined brightly on the valley of the Mountain Pride. Thankfully, a mildly strong breeze helped keep things at a bearable temperature, though it did nothing to mitigate the humidity. The stickiness got the better of those who were easily irritated, but the more mentally tough were able to bear it without complaining.<p>

Two such creatures that fell under the latter category were two of the most recognizable felines. Today, both father and son went out for a walk among the lands, and the people bowed with respect to the king and prince of the kingdom. Malka and Kota both gave a respectable bow in return as they continued their trek through a woodland area. They did have to stop to check up on two clans that were having an issue with overlapping territories, and it was one that seemed to go on a little longer than their liking. Malka instructed his son to observe his father, but didn't dissuade him from offering ideas.

The two clans, gazelles and zebras, originally settled on lands when they first came to the land, but over the last few years, the zebra clan was expanding much faster than the gazelles, and while the former clan had much more land than the latter, the gazelles had the larger waterholes. The zebras wanted some land from the gazelles, but the gazelles wouldn't budge. The idea of sharing a waterhole from the gazelles and grassy land from the zebras was offered by the king, but after some discussion with their respective clan elders, both leaders rejected the idea. Malka was about to drop the hammer on the issue and say the deal made in the beginning is still final, but Kota suggested a trade of land for a waterhole, an even swap. The gazelle leader, Abarron, agreed to the proposal. The zebra leader, Baraka, in his stubborn state, refused the idea.

That was when Malka had to give the ultimatum, because there was nothing else he could think of right now. "Alright, Baraka. If you can't give up some land for a larger waterhole, then I'm going to settle this once and for all. By that, I mean that you'll have to live with the arrangement you originally agreed to. It would be unfair for the gazelle clan to give a portion of their land with nothing in return. You must honor the original agreement or be willing to hand over some of your land." He glanced at Kota. "Personally, the prince here has offered you a fair and reasonable deal that _I_ would agree to." After an awkward silence, Malka spoke again. "So, what is your decision?"

Baraka said something inaudible. Then he said something that could barely be heard.

Malka frowned. "Speak up. I can't hear you, Baraka. If you're going to address me, it better be a more vocal response than grumbling. I'm not going to strain my ears to listen unless it's from you being sick, and I know you're not."

It was another few moments before Baraka more audibly said, "I agree to the terms."

The king's jaded green eyes became slits. "I agree to the terms…?"

"I agree to the terms, _your Highness_," came the correction.

Malka's face softened. "Good. You've both made a wise decision here for the sake of both clans. For the next few days, the original terms will still be in place. After, oh, four days, I want to see both you and Abarron to decide which waterhole and piece of land will be exchanged. See to it that both clans are informed of the situation."

"As you command, my King," Abarron said with a bow.

Baraka followed suit, but it took much effort to hide the begrudging attitude from his face. "I understand and acknowledge your command, your Highness. Would you like us to meet at your den?"

"That would be preferable," Malka replied, the iron sternness gone from his voice. "In the meantime, I bid you both good day." He and Kota both took a bow and resumed their walk. _I hope we have no more interruptions for the day, _Malka thought. He knew that was a virtual pipe dream. Being the king meant handling the duties of the pride and the people all the time. Thankfully, if he needed some time off, whether it was rest or from the war, Tama or Kota would take charge. From what his mate said, Kota was looking after the pride very well, but two areas of his leadership required attention from Malka. One was the ability to make the hard decisions and use the iron fist tactic, the other was attention to detail. Malka knew the latter issue would improve with time and experience. Unfortunately, the first issue would be a problem if not treated before Kota assumed the throne. He turned to face his son. "So what was your take on what just happened?"

"It was settled without having to resort to Plan B." Kota's response was quick and concise.

"I agree, and you showed great wisdom in making a suggestion that would benefit both parties. However, if you were in that situation and your suggestion was denied a few times, what would you do?"

Kota hesitated. "Well...I guess I would resort to the hard decisions."

Malka frowned. That wasn't the type of answer he wanted to hear from his son. "First of all, you don't guess. You are either sure or you aren't. Secondly, while that is the right verbal answer, would you actually make that decision? Be honest now."

The lion whose only physical difference between him and his father was his size, thought it over. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I would."

"Well, I'm glad you answered me truthfully. That being said, you need to be willing to make those hard decisions when a situation like that comes."

Nodding, Kota said, "But how would people follow me if they don't like me?"

"It depends on the situation. If it's a petty problem, and it usually is, then they'll get over it. If not, then maybe they need to find another place to live. But there will be challenging situations to during your reign, and not everyone will necessarily like or agree with you. That's the way it is." Malka jerked his head behind them. "Keep in mind, the pride will support you in their decisions. They, too, may not always agree with you or see what you see, but they will back you up. The key to that is being sure of your decisions. The last thing the pride needs is a leader who is uncertain in his decision making. It's ok if you don't always know the answer, because even I don't always have an answer to everything, at least, not immediately. But if you're constantly hesitant, it will affect the pride. That, in turn, will affect the people, leaving your job as ruler all the more harder."

"So, if I resort to strong arm tactics like fighting, it's ok as long as I'm sure?"

"Yes, but keep in mind to leave the fighting as a last resort. You've already shown to me that you're capable of making wise decisions. That wisdom is invaluable to leadership and gaining the trust and respect from the pride and people."

Kota's ears perked up at the mentioning of fighting. It confused him. If his father was teaching him to hold off on fighting unless all peaceful routes were taken, then why would he be in this war with an enemy far away? Malka had been mostly gone for a year in this war, leaving the duties to Kota and his mother. The last the young prince recalled, he wasn't told of an peace talks taking place. That sounded like a double-standard to him, and that didn't sit right with Kota at all. "Then if fighting is a last resort, then why are you fighting on a distant warfront, Father? It's not as though you're defending our land from enemy invaders."

Malka took that question hard. It was one that he wrestled with himself, and he knew the answer would not be to his son's liking. "Some fights are fought on these lands. It gives the others a simple definition of what being a king is. However, the enemy I face is unlike any we have faced before. They're not a group of rogue males trying to take over the pride. They can kill us before we get anywhere near them, and their only intent is for us to die. Or worse, use us as their test subjects."

"But haven't you attempted any peace talks with them?"

"The plan in the near future is to offer a truce with them, to include the condition that they leave the planet and never return. But, truth be told, I doubt they'll agree to it."

"Why do you say that?"

Malka scratched his ear. "After everything we've been through and what we've seen and what the intentions of their leader is, they will not stop until they've accomplished their goal. Dasyu, that's their leader, has lost two of three strongholds. But instead of packing up and leaving, he's remained here. It's now personal to him, and he's even more determined to finish what he started. If those two losses haven't stopped him, I don't see how a formal call will.

Kota lifted a paw. "Okay, let's say I believe that what you're saying about him is true. If that's the case, then why can't the others fight for you?"

"If everyone said 'others can fight for me', then who would fight?" As Malka expected, Kota didn't answer. Instead he looked to be contemplating that question, which is exactly what Malka wanted his son to be doing. After a few moments, Malka continued. "I hate this war as much as the next guy, Kota. That's why I want to see it through so that it never comes back and haunts us again."

"But it's nowhere near us, so there's no reason why you should be away from us fighting them."

Malka looked at him inquisitively. "So, you think I should stay here and risk Captain Hindsight rearing his ugly head at me?"

Kota frowned, confused. "Captain Hindsight? Is that one of your commanders?"

The king smiled sheepishly. He had forgotten who he was talking to. "It's a saying Danny taught me. It means that in hindsight, things are perfectly clear to see after they've come to pass. What I mean by that is, if I stayed home, and the enemy reached our land and killed all who live here, then it would be clear that I should've stayed in the fight. I could possibly make a huge difference, just like Danny decided to do the same."

"Father, I think that man has rubbed off a little too much on you."

At this point, Kota was no longer trying to sugarcoat things. He was being straightforward, a route that only he and his mother Tama could get away with. Malka noticed it, but remained calm. "I've told your mother this a thousand times and I'll say it to you. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive right now. For that matter, neither would you. Danny told me what happened when he destroyed Dasyu's first facility. He could've bolted from the facility and left me to die there, but he risked his life to save me and King Amiri's father."

Again, Malka was met by silence from his son. There was nothing the prince could say to dispute that. "You see, son, this is another aspect of being the leader of a kingdom: sacrifice. To be a leader, there is a lot you have to give up to watch over your people. While you can delegate certain duties to others, you still have tasks that only you can do. Mine is to protect this land from intruders, even if they're not within eyesight. To do that, I have to sacrifice my time with you, your sisters, and your mother. I can't tell you how much it hurts to be away from the four of you, but if it means maintaining the safety of our lands, then so be it."

"And if they still come to our lands whether you fight or not?"

"Then we're dead, for sure. With me fighting, it's _that _much more of a chance that that outcome doesn't come to pass."

Kota had never thought of it that way. He still didn't fully understand his father's decision to help fight alongside Danny in this war, but he did understand what he meant by sacrifice. It truly was a huge burden to bear for the kingdom. In spite of that, he still didn't feel comfortable with the whole situation. "I guess being a king is not all glamour and shine like certain people make it out to be."

"No, it's not. It's a lot more grit and grind than you know, but that will change when you assume the throne. Speaking of which, in order to relieve some of the stress on your burdens, you can assign certain beings to bring you reports on a daily basis. It will help you, in an administrative sense. For instance, your mother helps me out with duties, especially when I'm gone. You've been going with her, which has been good to help you gain some experience. There are others who come to me with daily updates to attend to for the day."

Kota's expression looked downcast. "While those administrators you've appointed a few years ago have helped, I don't have a mate to personally assist me."

Malka was relieved there was a change of subject. He really didn't want to talk about the war anymore for the day. He struck an amusing glance towards his son. "That's right. I've heard you haven't been spending time with any particular lioness in the pride. What's the matter? Your charm not working on them or something?"

Kota let out a light laugh as they took shade under a tree. "It's not that. I doubt my charm has been the problem. It's just that…" He shook his head. He wasn't sure how to word this. "I guess…it-the issue is that I don't find any of them interesting, and the feeling seems to be mutual with them."

"Oh, I wouldn't know about that," Malka said.

"But I do, Father. I look at them as sisters. Yes, we laugh at things. Yes, we have good conversations. However, the interest in each other is not there. They respect me and look at me simply as their leader and friend, nothing more. It could be the timing is off for us, but right now, I don't see it. I may have to face the possibility of being a bachelor king." Kota closed his eyes and hung his head.

Malka frowned. It was upsetting to see his son this way, and he definitely didn't want to see his son take the throne without a helper, namely a queen. It was tough enough as it was to take on the duties and responsibilities of a king. It was even more challenging for a ruler with no mate. To do so took an extremely tough and independent lion, and while he knew Kota was strong, he wasn't that rare type of ruler. Then again, aside from Danny, no one else Malka had ever known or heard of could rule that way.

Then an idea popped in his head. He placed a paw on Kota's shoulder. "Tell you what, how about you come with me to see King Amiri at the distant shore?"

_Say what? _Kota's head came up, clearly surprised by his father's question. "Huh?"

Malka gave him a smile. "Another thing about being a king is diplomacy. As a leader, you'll want to make a visit to your allies to see how they're doing and how you can assist them. It's always good to have allies in times of need. Besides, it might be good for you to get a change of scenery and, who knows? You may find a lioness there that you like."

Kota's face brightened, a first for the day. "Yeah, I'd love to go. When do we leave?"

"First thing in the morning. It's a long walk to the Shore Pride's land, and we want to cover as much as possible in the dark while it's still cool."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it. This is the hardest part of the book for me right now. Once I get past it, things should speed up a little. I'm trying to get some character development with some of the characters, as you can tell. I look forward to your reviews and appreciate any critique, as it will help me get better with my skills and ultimately make this story even better.<strong>


	10. Foreign Relationships

**What's good, people? First of all, congrats to the Seattle Seahawks for winning their first Super Bowl title(though I wish the game was a little less dominating and a lot more exciting). Secondly, I'm feeling the passion and drive for this story comin' back to me. As a result, you'll probably see chapters more frequently than in the past 18 months, but it won't be anywhere near when I started(when it was almost one chapter a week). Enjoy and hope to hear your input!**

* * *

><p><em>Father wasn't kidding about leaving early in the morning, <em>Kota thought as he and Malka came within sight of the shore. They had left shortly before dawn to begin their journey to visit Amiri and his pride. The first half of the trek started off fairly well. It was cold, but they made good time. Malka suggested they stop to get a drink early. At the time, Kota didn't feel thirsty, but now he was glad he decided to drink up. By midday, it became very hot, borderline sweltering, and the stop at the waterhole was starting to pay off.

When they reached a waterhole at the borders, they both stopped for another drink. The cold water was a welcome refreshment to them, and Kota more than took in his share. As he was drinking, he watched his father step away. His ears were soon rattled by the sound of his father roaring _**real **_loud. Kota did his best not to flinch, but failed miserably.

As his father came back, Kota shook his head in a vain attempt to clear the ringing from his ears. "Did you have to roar, Father?"

Malka gave Kota his best matter-of-fact expression. "Yeah. You have to remember that we're entering a foreign kingdom. I just let the king know who it is that's entering his land. He knows me, so he won't be alarmed. If it was an unfamiliar roar, then he'd know it's a stranger, most likely a rogue male looking to take over. Either way, we should expect some company soon. But we shouldn't expect any hostilities."

As they waited, Kota kept a sharp eye out. This was his first time out of the valley, and even though he was excited about meeting the Shore Pride, his senses were on red alert. He did not feel like getting ambushed today, so he kept a close eye out. He glanced over to his father's direction. Malka was relaxed, apparently not worried or tense. Kota was confused. _Why would he let his guard down like this?_

He didn't have time to dwell on it, as some noise to his left caused him to turn that way and get low by reflex. The long grass swayed with the wind. But he caught some disruption in the grass, a line that wasn't moving with the wind. _Someone's in there! _Kota slowly moved forward toward the grass, using his claws to sink into the ground and keep silent while moving. He positioned himself to a place just ahead of the creature's path and waited.

Kota hunkered down and prepared to launch forward. His heart was pumping fast. He wanted to signal his father to help him, but any noise made could prove a costly mistake. At the very least, it would give away his position. _How does Father not notice this at all? _He was frustrated that Malka had not made any moves since roaring. Here Kota was, waiting to defend them from a possible attack and his father was completely nonchalant about the situation.

The stalker's movement was now in earshot of Kota, no more than ten feet away. He spotted the unusual movement in the grass and made his move. With a growl, Kota leapt toward his target's destination. His timing couldn't have been more perfect. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing he had going for him. He landed on his target, but when his momentum stopped, he realized who he had attacked.

Staring back at him was a brown-eyed lioness. She made no moves to defend herself, but rather just lay there on her back. Kota was at a loss for words, and he couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment that he attacked a member of the Shore Pride or the warm smile she gave him. _Great. What kinda pile of crap did I step into here? _

Even though her smile was inviting, her tone belied a joking manner. "Whoa, easy sweetheart. If you want to meet a girl, you need to ask first. You can't go fast and physical like that."

Behind him, Kota could hear his father laughing. He felt his face burning hot with shame. He couldn't believe he had blundered that badly. Maybe it was paranoia, but he was sure he was set up in some sort of way.

Malka stopped laughing. "You know, Kota, when you said you didn't find any lionesses back home interesting, I didn't know you meant to say 'I want a lioness and I want one _**now**_!'"

Now it was the lioness' turn to laugh, and Kota felt even more like crawling under a rock at the moment. He managed a glum smile as he got off her. "At least there's no threat around." That drew even more laughter, and Kota decided not to say anything else for the time being.

The lioness got up and smirked. "Yeah, that's true. Good job at securing the area." The sarcasm in her voice was evident, and she could tell Kota was even more flustered by his mistake.

Before anything else could be said, another being came in real fast. Kota knew it wasn't a cheetah, so it could only be someone one of the vehicles his father talked about, a speeder bike. That really narrowed down the list, so Kota figured it was Tupac, the only one in the Shore Pride who could change into one of the metal transformers like his father.

Tupac came to a stop in front of the three lions, bringing a cloud of dust with him from the exhaust trail. When the dust cleared, he looked at the three of them. He noticed Kota looking glum while Malka and Kashore carried more merry expressions. He chuckled. "I take it everyone's getting along well?"

Malka laughed. "Good to see you too."

"Likewise," Tupac replied. He looked at Kota, looked at Malka, and then back at Kota. You must be Kota, Malka's son. It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you. I can only presume that you're Tupac."

"Yep. I'm the only other male aside from the king, so it's pretty simple to figure out."

"Just like me being the only other male in my pride aside from my father," Kota quipped.

Tupac worked his jaw for a moment before nodding. "Touche." He looked over at the lioness. "I see you've met my sister, Kashore."

Kota felt a flash of heat wash over his face. "Yeah…you could say that."

Noticing his sister suppressing a laugh, Tupac frowned. "Did I miss something? You didn't set yourself up for a wisecrack from her, did you?"

Kashore smiled, but gritted her teeth to fight off the laugh. "Yeah, he did."

That didn't surprise Tupac one bit, but he could see Kota wasn't used to his sister's antics yet. He patted Kota's shoulder. "Don't worry. My sibling there is known for being a joker. If you're not careful, she will catch you when you least expect it."

"Yeah, thanks for the tip."

Tupac sat back on his speeder and turned over the ignition. "Well, since everything is good, let's get going. Our brother is looking forward to seeing you and I'd hate to keep him waiting."

Kota watched Tupac begin moving slowly to maintain a pace comfortable for the others. Kashore walked up beside him. As she did, she looked back at Kota and gave him a wink. Kota felt that familiar heat hit him again, and he hated it. It was flustering to him, but what's worse, he wasn't sure if there was anything he could do about it.

Malka nudged him in the shoulder. "She's funny. Cute, but funny." He mimicked Kota's voice. "'At least there's no threat around'? What was that, buddy?"

The prince just shrugged. "Hey, it was all I could think of."

Shaking his head, Malka said, "We're gonna have to work on your sense of humor and rolling with a joke, even if you're the butt of it."

They walked through the trees, moving through a slow transition from jungle to beach environment. The wooded trees soon moved into palm, a good indication that the beach was close. The herds and clans noticed the party of lions, and realized that two of them were strangers from another land. Some of them recognized Malka as the king of the Mountain Pride, and gave him a respectable nod, which he returned.

Kota noticed a lot of curious looks in his direction. He figured it was probably since no one knew him here that they were gazing at him the way they did. He did his best to disguise his nervousness, and he was sure he was doing a good job at the moment. Hopefully, it would go away with more visits to the king when he took the throne. An unfamiliar breeze bristled the prince's fur, and the scent carried a hint of salt. He could also hear the rush of water, and his logic told him they were close to their destination.

His deductive reasoning rang true when they came to a clearing, as he immediately spotted the pride of lions sitting in some shade on the beach. The whole mood seemed to be one of total relaxation, but Kota couldn't blame them. This would be an ideal place to rule. Welcoming breezes, fairly decent weather, and surreal scenery, there was nothing not to like here. _This seems like paradise._

As they passed amongst the pride, Kota glanced to his left and saw some lionesses whispering to each other and giggling when they noticed him looking their way. In spite of the heat on his face, he gave them a smile which drew even more giggling. Kota made a mental note to see if he could chat with them.

He turned to see a male lion standing directly in front of them. Since one of the two males in the pride was on a speeder, Kota knew the other was the king, Amiri. The king was giving them a confident smile, clearly pleased at seeing the king and prince of the Mountain Pride. Kota made sure he remained on the right side of his father. It was only appropriate as the heir to the throne. Another thing he knew was to speak when spoken to in this case.

Malka and Amiri bumped heads in formal greeting. "I must say, this is a welcome surprise to see you, Malka," Amiri said. "I trust you had no issues at the borders."

The elder king glanced back at his son and smiled. "Let's just say we managed to…stay on top of things. Amiri, let me introduce you to my son, Prince Kota. My heir to the throne."

Kota stepped forward and bowed low. "Your Majesty. It's nice to meet you."

Amiri returned the bow. "Likewise, Kota. It's nice to have you here as our guest. Have you liked what you've seen so far?"

The young lion's eyes shot over to Kashore for a split second. "It's been full of firsts, Your Highness."

"You're telling me," Kashore said, under her breath.

Most of the pride didn't hear it, but Malka, Kota, Amiri, and Tupac all heard it. Amiri looked at her inquisitively, while Malka and Tupac started cracking up. Kota just shook his head. _The sooner this gets old, the better off I'll be._ The one good thing was that he was taking it a little better in stride, but just a little.

Amiri kept his gaze on her a few more moments before shaking his head. "Knowing my sister, it doesn't come as a surprise to hear you say that, Kota. Kashore is in a class of her own when it comes to jokes, so don't take it personally if and when she says something."

"So, I'm beginning to understand, sir." Kota was starting to get annoyed at how formal he sounded. It was how he was raised, but everyone around him seemed to be relaxed and enjoying themselves. A vague thought of spending time with the human friend of his father's crossed his mind in order to learn informalities, but he dismissed it just as fast. There were other ways to adopt an informal attitude.

"You'll get used to her the more you get to know her," Amiri said. "Since this is your first time in our lands, it might be beneficial for you to get to know the geography of our kingdom. Tupac, do you think you could give him a tour?"

Tupac winced. "I still have to patrol the southern border. Would you like me to hold off on that for the time being?"

The king was about to have him cancel the patrol, when another idea popped into his head. "Actually, you get on with your patrol. I'll go another route with this." He turned to his sister. "Kashore, take the prince out for a walk. Show him around the kingdom so that he can gain an understanding of how things are here."

A couple lionesses let out disappointing sighs as Kashore stepped forward. "Sounds like a tough task, but I think I can handle it." She nudged Kota. "I'm sure there will be some more 'firsts' on this tour."

Kota groaned. _Is this going to be one of those "Why me" moments? _He kept his composure. "I'm sure to see something out of the ordinary on this trip." He walked over towards Kashore. "Lead on, blondie." A couple suppressed laughs were heard in the pride.

Kashore didn't respond. She just smiled and started walking off the beach towards the plains. Kota followed behind and to the left of her. He glanced back to see his father begin conversation with Amiri, while Tupac headed out, leaving a large trail of dust behind him. Kota turned his attention back to Kashore and the tour.

The first half hour was uneventful. Kashore didn't say much except for a few concise points of certain locations. Kota gave understanding nods and curt, verbal agreements. They had passed a couple herds, who regarded them curiously. While Kashore was one of the pride members, they didn't recognize Kota. That left them wary, but the two lions paid them little mind. Kota found the topography of the land involved little elevation or descent as they went, the polar opposite of back home.

As hot as it was, the temperature managed to rise even higher, and both felines agreed to stop at a waterhole for a break. It seemed like every time Kota stopped for water, it felt like it was the first time he drank in a week. His mouth felt like a desert, so the cool, fresh feeling of the water brought a huge feeling of relief with it.

As they drank, Kota decided to break the silence. "So, how's life here on the beach?"

Kashore shrugged. "It gets really humid here, but thankfully, a quick swim in the water helps us cool down."

Kota frowned. That was unusual to hear. Most lions would not go into water unless they had to, and unless they had to swim across the Great Water or to surprise an unsuspecting prey, there was no point of them doing it here. "You mean to tell me that all of you jump into the water like it's a routine?"

The lioness gave him a lopsided smile. "Trust me, hon. When it gets hot here, it gets _hot_. The water's not freezing cold, but it's cool enough to get a break from the heat."

"I guess you gotta be unconventional in those situations. As for our pride, we don't jump in the water since it doesn't get hot enough. The shade is good enough for us and the occasional breeze helps out too." As he finished, he thought over the idea of jumping into the water. While he had seldom done it, it wasn't for enjoyment. If he were to be honest, Kota would enjoy taking a swim and cooling off from the hot sun. And he definitely would enjoy being in the water with...

"Did you hear me?"

Kashore's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. His fantasizing threw him in a trance and he berated himself for it. "What? What did you say?"

The lioness smiled, though Kota read it more as a smirk. "I said that the other females must agree with that statement, especially in your company."

Kota was glad his fur was close to the color red. Otherwise, she would've seen him blushing. Still, the heat that rushed to his cheeks was not helping. _God, what is with me?_ "Uh...y-yeah. They're, uh...t-they're my friends." He stammered the words out, which didn't help his situation. _Nice going, Kota._

"I kinda figured that, unless you like to hang out with lionesses who hate you." She started to slither towards him, offering a seductive smile. "Have any expressed..._interest_ towards you?"

The heat in Kota felt in his face was now reaching and all-time high. "N-Not really. We're just friends. W-Why do you ask?" He was really wishing someone was here to slap him out of his stammering state because he wasn't really able to help himself. Kashore was attractive, and thus far, she was the only lioness where he felt a spark of interest.

She shook her head. "That's a shame. Personally, I think you're hot."

That last statement got Kota's heart beating fast, to the point where he believed it would pound its way out of his rib cage. As far as getting a clean statement out, he was done for. "Y-Y-You really think so?" They were now less than a foot apart, their breath now felt by each other.

The lioness looked up into his eyes. "Yes, I do." She moved forward, forcing Kota to back up. Her expression changed, from a seductive smile to a cunning smirk. "Which is why I think you need to cool down."

Before Kota could react, Kashore playfully bumped him off the edge of the rock they were standing on. He didn't realize it, but Kashore had maneuvered him towards the edge of the rock. With no way to counter-balance himself, the only way to go was down into the waterhole. A cold feeling enveloped him as he splashed into the water. He spun around to right himself and then kicked his way to the top.

He broke through the water's surface, only to come up to obscure vision thanks to his soaked mane and a hysterical laugh from Kashore. The feeling of nervousness was now replaced with more shame and embarrassment. _Should've seen that coming. _He slowly got out of the water, turning to face her. Rather than shake his fur of the water, he let it be, leaving himself looking like a damp mop.

Kashore was on her back, laughing so hard she started to clutch her stomach because it hurt so bad. "That...That was priceless. Your face is now going to remain a close memory in my mind. I didn't think you'd fall for that..."

Her comments did little to improve Kota's move, and he just hung his head in shame and probably irritation.

She noticed and did her best to control her laughing. She got up as she tried to stifle a giggle, but failed. She watched him slowly walk over towards, but he stopped halfway and sat down. "Aw, come on. I was just joking around. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah..." Kota sounded unconvinced. "Look, let's just go take a look at the rest of the land while I dry out." He closed the distance between her. As he started to pass her, he acted as though he tripped over something and stumbled into her. While Kashore wasn't on the edge like he was, the force of his blundering impact was enough to send her off into the waterhole. She screamed as she fell in, sending a huge wave in all directions. This time, Kota took the moment to chuckle, though his laugh was nowhere near the hysterical level Kashore attained.

Kashore surfaced, and immediately scanned around for Kota and locked eyes with him. Her glare wasn't nearly as impressive as her sense of humor. "You...you..."

Kota smiled. "Sorry, I can't see since my damp mane is covering my eyes." It was at that point, he shook the water out of his mane, vastly improving his eyesight. "That's better." He looked at her and feigned surprise. "Oh, geez. How'd you end up in the water?" Kota finished that with a wink.

Kashore started moving to the water's edge. "Just wait until I get my paws on you."

Kota laughed. "Catch me if you can." He took off for the open field with a half-angry, half-amused Kashore right on his tail.

* * *

><p>For the most part, the day in the Pride Lands was a typical one. Most of the herds, clans, and packs were going about their normal day. Normal temperature, normal hunting, basically normal life. But the pride of lions-guardians and royal councilors of the people, were bustling with activity. They had organized in the cave for an internal meeting to discuss future proceedings and rulings.<p>

As usual, the pride circled around Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kovu. They were the current and future rulers, respectively, so it was natural that everyone would surround them. Danny and Zainabu sat in the back, behind the circle of felines. While they had the right to sit in the center with the leaders due to their time as rulers, they preferred to sit in the back. Danny was never the ambitious type, and preferred being "one of the gang" as he put it. Zainabu didn't care what his preference was. She just wanted to be next to her husband. Tojo, Mheetu, and Chumvi all sat with their mates next to each other in the ring. Tanabi, despite being a member of the royal family, chose to sit next to Tojo's family to be closer to Vitani. No one seemed to mind. Sarabi and most of the senior lionesses sat behind the circle, but on the side where the mouth of the cave was. Xolani remained outside to watch Kopa and the other cubs.

The talks amongst the pride were all at low tones, but with everyone talking at once, it might has well been a raucous bunch of sports fans. Simba tried the calm way. "Alright, everyone. Let's get to the meeting." A few stopped talking, but apparently his words seemed to fall on deaf ears, for the most part. "Hey, pipe down!" Still, no effect. He hung his head. Danny and Zainabu were able to cover their ears just before Simba roared. The compactness of the cave amplified the king's roar, and that got the lionesses to stop talking and listen in. "Thank you. The meeting will now come to order."

Simba began pacing around, as if he were performing a battle inspection. The pride all had a similar stance as he passed them: a relaxed position while locking eyes with the king's. "Today, we're here to discuss new appointments of positions in the pride's hierarchy, a report from the sentinels, and a report on the distant battlefield from Danny." He looked to the queen. "You're up, Nala."

The blue-eyed lioness stepped to the front. "As you know, it's become increasingly difficult for me to continue my duties as queen and as lead huntress as of late. With the distant war occupying Danny's time and the threat of a rogue male invasion still very real, the king is having even more duties to handle. This requires action from myself."

All the pride members looked at her with approving nods. Most of the senior lionesses saw this coming, while the general crowd of the pride were mostly in the dark on this situation. Still, they weren't one to question the king and queen about this subject, and they certainly weren't going to blame Danny from having to take the Preliators away to defend their home. They understood why he had to do it, and were glad it was being fought on a distant battlefield than in the Pride Lands.

Nala paced around just as Simba did. "This action is to offer even more devotion from myself in my duties as queen of the Pride Lands in order to relieve some of Simba's duties. However, this means that I will no longer serve as the lead huntress." She paused in order to let her last statement sink in for everyone. The general reaction was expected. Disappointment was on everyone's faces, but with those expressions came the understanding nods. She stopped right in front of her family. "Kiara."

The princess' head came up, but she joined her mother by stepping forward. She was realizing that this was the first huge responsibility she was going to face when her time came to take the reigns from her parents, but she knew this was going to be her job, eventually. It was better to get some experience before becoming the queen. By taking this leadership position, the transition to queen would be much easier for her when that time came.

Nala continued to speak. "As future queen, it is Kiara's rightful claim as well as her duty. Be patient with her, as she will make some mistakes as leader. Those are the growing pains involved with new leadership. But I have every bit of confidence that she will become the leader she has been taught and trained to become." After she had said what she had to say, Nala stepped back to allow Kiara to make a statement of her own.

_I wish public speeches were my strong-suit,_ Kiara thought, as she stepped forward to give a glance at all the lionesses present. "I know this will be an adjustment for you as it is for me. I know the next hunt will be my first time as lead huntress but it won't be our first time out there together. We have a plan for catching our prey, so it should be no different than the previous hunts." Kiara was chiding herself mentally for not using bigger words, but she hoped her confident voice would be enough. "But to make sure our hunts go smoothly, I do have a backup plan."

If any lioness was leisurely listening to the princess, Kiara had their full attention now. This apparently was cue for Vitani, as she stepped out from her place in the ring and walked up next to her sister-in-law. She gave the others a reassuring smile.

Like her mother, Kiara spoke for the new appointee. "I have discussed this with Vitani should this appointment come to pass, and I have personally appointed her as my second huntress. If I get sick, have to focus on my duties as queen, or some other emergency comes up, she will take charge of the hunting party. I know her skills are second to Zira only, so she will be able to handle an emergency commander's role if or when that time comes. Any questions?" When none came, both Kiara and Vitani returned to their respective positions.

"Now that the appointments of authority have been taken care of, I'd like to hear from Tanabi regarding the sentinels' report." Simba gave the nod to his son.

Tanabi left his position to join the family in the center. While Kovu was set to become the next king, Tanabi was still in charge of the sentinels. This was largely due to the fact that Tanabi was no longer next in line to the throne. However, the royal position of Lead Sentinel was the next option for him, so the duty was charged to him rather than Kovu. There was no objections from the latter lion, as he would be busy assisting Kiara with the everyday responsibilities of leading the people.

The smaller version of Simba turned to face his family. "Vitani, Kovu, and I have had few incidents over the past month. Kovu and I did have a few rogue males attempt to invade, but we managed to...persuade them to leave."

"And by that, you mean...?" Kiara asked.

Looking over at Chumvi, Tanabi continued. "Chumvi happened to be in the area and he was armed. One rogue didn't seem intimidated and decided to press his luck. Chumvi's rifle fixed that mistake and that was enough to change the other rogues' minds and they left."

Simba smirked. "I vaguely remember that. Any other incidents?"

Tanabi shook his head. "Nothing spectacular. A few problems with the locals, but nothing too major. We did have a suspected sighting of hyenas, but they were too far from the borders to confirm exactly who they were. Their scent was somewhat familiar, though. Then again, my nose could've been playing tricks with me."

"Could it be the hyena pack that left the Pride Lands five years ago?" Berhane asked.

It was Zira who answered the question. "It's possible, but highly unlikely. With the punishment of high treason, coupled with Danny and Simba's return, they knew it would be suicide to return here. Those hyenas aren't the only hyenas in this world. It was more than likely another pack."

"I agree," Danny chimed in. "We've heard multiple sightings of hyenas before, and they would be treated as rogue males and barred passage through the Pride Lands."

"With that being said," Tanabi continued. "There's no other incidents that I would consider out-of-the-ordinary. Still, we're keeping a lookout for any of the aforementioned threats as well as any of Dasyu's troops."

"What's the likelihood of that?" Tavira asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"That's where I come in for my report," Danny said, stepping forward and giving Tanabi a wave to return to his position in the ring. He stepped in front of the family and gave his brother a nod while looking at the entire pride. "All of you know that I've been fighting on a distant front against Dasyu. Some of you have even experienced what kind of being he is."

The Preliators and the lionesses who were abducted last year gave looks of disgust. It was hard to forget an experience like the one they went through. Dasyu was cold-blooded and would go to extreme measures to achieve his goals. He may have been a distant threat, but they knew from experience that that could change in a moment's notice.

"Right now, we've been effective at chipping away at his forces with hit-and-run attacks, destroying any groups that carry natural resources that would allow Dasyu to otherwise expand his forces. So far, they've all been successful, and with minimal casualties on our side. We will continue with this plan until Dasyu's forces are weakened enough to take them on in a frontal assault or a raid to destroy their last facility. When it is destroyed, Dasyu will be finished. He can't continue his campaign against this world without any of his strongholds."

"Can't he just continue to gather resources? Even with your success?" Nala asked.

"While he can replenish his resources, he can't replenish his personnel. We've taken them out, a little at a time. Eventually, he'll have no one left."

"Okay, but can't you just take him on directly?"

Danny smiled at the queen. "I wish we could, but it would be suicide. We'd lose way too many men and we wouldn't have much of a fighting chance, not without taking us with them."

Shani stepped forward. "So...what you're saying is that there's no immediate possibility to end this war without heavy casualties?"

"I didn't say that," Danny said. Any murmurings in the pride went dead in a hurry. He knew they were all paying attention to him. "In a week, I'm going to meet with Dasyu personally. I've given him a location to meet. I'm going to give him one chance to surrender, leave without incident, and never return here again."

"And if he doesn't?" Shani asked.

"Then the war will continue until it's over."

Something about this made Simba's fur rise. The plan had an odor to it. "But what's the likelihood that he will try to kill you?"

Danny pursed his lips._ They are not going to like this answer,_ he thought. "It's very likely that he will try to kill me. Which is why all Preliators..." He stopped when he caught movement outside. The others noticed and followed his gaze. Standing at the mouth of the cave was the king cheetah, Haraka. He transformed into his robot form. Danny pointed to the ceiling. "Meet us by the ship, Haraka."

"Got it," Haraka said, before disappearing from sight.

Danny resumed. "Which is why all Preliators will meet together after this meeting. I have a plan that needs to be executed, and we'll have to leave in three days to begin for the meeting."

The others exchanged glances. Danny watched some of the families shift uneasily. None of them wanted to leave and go back to the war. In all honest truth, Danny didn't either. He wanted to stay and spend quality time with Zainabu. But that was the life of a soldier: you had to be ready to make that sacrifice to protect your family and your home. The pride was concerned for the safety of those who fought, and worried that one day a loved one might not return. Thankfully, they understood that the Preliators had to fight to keep the war from coming to their front door step.

Simba came up and placed a paw on his brother's arm. "I believe I'm speaking for everybody when I say this. Is this the wisest course of action?"

Danny paused. "As I've already said, it is risky. But that's why we are leaving early to plan out a contingency, just in case Dasyu pulls a trump card on us." When everyone looked at each other with confused looks, he elaborated the saying. "It means if he decides to dishonor his side of the agreement and take advantage of my kindness by trying to kill me in the meeting. But if he does agree and this war ends, then it will be worth the risk."

"Well, you know we've got your back in this, even if we may not necessarily like it," Simba said.

This prompted a smile from the man. He appreciated the support his brother gave him. In fact, it was encouraging that the entire pride would stick with him in this. "If we liked something about this war, it would be if and when we won."

"Good point."

Danny returned to the subject. "So, thus far, the war is going our way. But we can't let our guard down. That is vital for us to maintain our momentum. We've done a solid job at keeping this place a secret. Out of all the defectors we've recruited from Dasyu, only one knows of our location. I trust him and the others, but not to a fault. The chance of betrayal is always there, which is why we've never returned here on a straight flight course. It's also why I've only revealed who I am to just one person over there. However, it's another risk that needs to be taken. Realistically speaking, we couldn't take on Dasyu without some help. Once the war is over, they will leave the planet and return to their kind, wherever that might be. Other than what I've said, that's all I have for you." He left the center and returned to where Zainabu was standing.

Simba cleared his throat. "We appreciate you bringing us up to speed on the war, Danny. Remember this, everyone, the Preliators need your support in their fight against Dasyu, regardless of what others may say. What they do allows us to live in peace here in the Pride Lands. Be grateful about that. That being said, if there's no other business to be brought up, then this meeting has concluded."

At this, everyone began to break away and head out of the cave to enjoy the rest of the day. Danny, Zainabu, and the Preliators all headed up to the summit to begin making plans for the future, while the rest of the pride headed towards the promontory or the shade of the acacia trees on the side of Pride Rock.

Tavira and Shoshanna headed towards the promontory, but remained at the base. They had been deep in thought about Tanabi. Both of them found him very attractive, almost to the point of infatuation. While Shoshanna was the more shy and reserved type, Tavira was more flirtatious and aggressive. She had been planning on talking a little more with Tanabi, now that they both had time to themselves.

For the fourth time, she checked herself and made sure she looked presentable. Most lionesses didn't really worry about the details of their appearance the way she did. Even Danny had noticed it, and would occasionally shoot her with the nickname "Diva". Tavira wasn't familiar with the term, so she took it as a compliment. "What do you think, Shoshanna? Do you think Tanabi will notice?"

Her friend examined her as best as she could. "Well, your fur isn't matted and you're not dirty. I'd say you are good to go."

"Of course I am," Tavira said, proudly. "I've got everything he'd want. Good looks, sweet smile, and full of love. There's no way he'd resist me."

"I totally agree," Shoshanna said. "You sound a bit on the egotistical side, though."

"It's just confidence. Every guy wants a confident girl. It's just the way it is."

Shoshanna glanced over Tavira's shoulder. "Well, here's your shot. Tanabi's coming out of the cave."

Tavira whirled around. The prince had come out of the cave and into the sunlight. The lioness let out a gush of affection. _He's so handsome._ She could tell he was looking for someone, and decided that she would solve that problem immediately. The lioness slinked her way towards him, hoping she'd catch his attention. It didn't seem to be working, as he was still looking around. Undeterred, she continued her advance.

It wasn't until she was less than five feet from him that his eyes locked with hers. Tanabi gave her a polite smile. "How's it going, Tavira?"

She smiled. "Well, I'm doing pretty good. You're looking nice today."

Tanabi finally settled his gaze on her. "Um...thanks." _Okay...this is awkward. _

Tavira slowly moved forward, but not noticeably. "You need help with something?"

"I'm just looking for someone, that's all."

"Then look no further. I can keep you company for...awhile." That last word came out in a seductive whisper.

Tanabi gave her a weak smile, finally catching on to where this was going. "Oh, thanks...I guess." For a split-second, he wondered if Danny would catch this before he went to the summit and try to help Tanabi. The lion threw that thought out of his head faster than it came in. He knew his uncle better than that. Rather than help Tanabi, Danny would just wave and try to stifle a laugh while watching his nephew struggle to squirm away from Tavira. She was attractive, no question. But he was not interested in her. Tavira's other qualities left something to be desired, and he didn't share the same connection with her that he did with Vitani.

The lioness jerked her head towards the grasslands. "You know, we could go for a walk. It would be nice to have some company with you, plus...it would be comforting, knowing a strong lion like yourself would be beside me."

Laughing nervously, Tanabi took a step back. He was really getting uncomfortable right now. "Heh...I appreciate the offer, but I've got to meet up with someone. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"I like it when guys play hard to get," Tavira said. "It makes things...interesting. Besides, I'm sure whoever's waiting will understand why you're being held up."

_Wanna bet? _Tanabi thought. It was then that he realized how close she was to him. _This is not going to end well._

She was about to press further when another voice entered the conversation. "Is this a private party or can anybody join in?" Tavira recognized the voice immediately. _Vitani._

The lioness known for her lavender eyes and fighting skills came up to the two. She was eyeing both of them with interest, but Tanabi could tell from her smile that it was amusement rather than irritation. Either way, he was thankful that she had come. He smiled with relief. "Vitani, I was just looking for you. Are you ready for the walk?"

She smiled, sparing a momentary glance at Tavira. "Yeah, I was just wondering when you were coming to the bottom so we could go."

"You said the base of the promontory, not the base of Pride Rock," Tanabi shot back, unable to keep a smirk off his face. Inside, he was glad he could focus on her and not Tavira, whose jaw dropped open.

"No, I said the base of Pride Rock. Most of the pride walked towards the shade in the back. The few that didn't are right here at the promontory. I thought that would've..." Vitani shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm here, you're here. Let's go."

Tanabi let out a sigh of relief. "Works for me." He turned to Tavira. "See you around, Tavira."

Watching Tanabi and Vitani walk off side-by-side, Tavira couldn't believe what she just witnessed. Vitani was the lioness Tanabi was looking for. It wasn't for their duty, as evidenced by Vitani now starting to nuzzle Tanabi. The realization had dawned on her that Tanabi was more than just a friend to Vitani. He was in love with her, and Tavira was out of the picture, as far as the prince was concerned.

The tears began to well up in her eyes, as she had to face facts. _Wh-why isn't he interested in me? I'm the most beautiful lioness available here. _The confusion and the pain were just too much for her, and she began taking off for the opposite slope. Once she was at the bottom, she let her tears flow freely. Tavira was glad the pride didn't see her like this, she just wanted to run to a place where she could be alone and cry until she couldn't cry anymore. The direction of where she ran didn't matter, as long as it was away from Pride Rock.

Tavira made it about half a mile before finding the shade of some trees. She lay down and buried her face into her foreleg, sobbing uncontrollably. The dreams she had of her being with Tanabi came crashing down on her, and all she could do was ask herself why it wasn't her.

* * *

><p><strong>Please give me some input on the romance, if you can. I've stated in years past that romance is not my strong-suit, and little changed in that department. Constructive critique is appreciated!<strong>


	11. Lifeand not so life

**Spring break has come to an end, but that time was spent working on this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The inside of the <em>Preliator <em>was a much more comfortable place to hold the mission briefing than outside. It was fairly hot outside, so when a chance for some comfort was available, it was taken. The fact that the environmental cooling unit was active also served to improve the team's already decent attitude. Closing the ramp meant that the temperature would remain isolated inside the ship.

Danny and the others circled around a table, with Tojo, Mheetu, Chumvi, and Haraka all in their robot form. The only contents on it were a map and a pencil. The map had a pair of ten-digit coordinates to show where it would be on a larger, more scaled map. According to the grid, it was over 400 miles away from both Dasyu's stronghold and the one the Preliators were using. It was west by south from Dasyu's and northwest of theirs. At the center of the map was the southwest portion a very large lake, with a small cluster of islands in a joint connection with three smaller sections of water. The others didn't know their names, but Danny knew them from geography as the Bangwe Bay, the Nzera Bay, and the Emin Pasha Gulf. If he was in the right realm of Earth, the location of the meeting would be about fifty-some miles from Mwanza, a large region of Tanzania that was known for its agriculture and commercial development.

The island the meeting would be held was the southernmost of three tiny islands in between the Butwa and Mambe islands. They were all close to each other, so visibility would be clear for both sides. The risk would be Butwa Island, as three elevations would be perfect spots for snipers in terms of both height and distance. All other elevations were easily over a mile, making a sure shot very doubtful beyond that distance. Together, the elevations and the tiny island formed a pyramid at a ¾ view, with the island serving as the vertex.

Danny grabbed the pencil as he began. "You all know what this briefing is about. In a week, I'll be meeting with Dasyu to conduct a peaceful means of surrender. While it is very unlikely that he will comply, we still have to try. That said, we need to make sure he doesn't try anything funny."

"That's a shame, because I was really looking forward to some humor from the enemy...might shake me out of my state of boredom," Haraka said, sarcastically.

Snorting, Danny said, "Nice to know you're paying attention." He pointed the pencil at the southernmost island. "This is where the meeting will take place. It's the smallest one where there will be no hidden surprises waiting for me there. At about 1:50, I will be landing on it. Dasyu should come a few minutes after that...or he might come first. It could go either way. But I will not be carrying a weapon on me while the negotiations are taking place."

"But then you'll have no way to defend yourself," Zainabu responded, her tone full of worry.

Danny's wife had a valid concern, but he remained calm. "Zee, I understand how you feel. Believe me, I don't like going without my shotgun or pistol to the waterhole, let alone talking to my greatest enemy. But I am going to honor my agreement. Besides, I not going to be totally defenseless. This is where all of you come in. Tojo?"

The self-proclaimed pretty boy of the trio looked up from studying the map. "Yeah?"

"Dasyu is most likely going to use snipers to take me out. He'll make it look like he's on the level when he shows up with no one with him, aside from his pilot, and no weapons to speak of. You know, try to make me think he's holding up his end of the bargain." He pointed to Butwa's general landmass, and then the central and eastern elevations. "This is Butwa Island. Dasyu's going to set up at least two snipers, one in each of these elevations. Judging from the circles, they look like hills, not mountains. Still, it's great elevation and there looks to be quite a bit of undergrowth, so they'll probably be hidden in there somewhere."

"So what do you want us to do, exactly?" Tojo asked.

"I want you and Mheetu to meet with Bren and pick out three, four-man, counter-sniper teams. They will consist of a sniper, a spotter, and two regular infantryman to protect them from close quarters." He paused when he heard them start to groan. "Look, I've heard enough from both of you regarding Bren and the others. I've heard your say, but it's no longer up for discussion. You don't want to look him or any of them in the eyes? Fine. That's your problem, but if you don't work together, it's gonna become mine. If that happens, you both are gonna hate life. Do you understand?"

They nodded.

This only prompted an angry expression from Danny. "I want a verbal answer."

"I understand," Tojo and Mheetu replied in succession.

The man lowered his voice. "Good. Now, you'll place two teams at the western elevation on Butwa and the island closest to Mambe, so that they criss-cross fields of fire with the eastern elevation. The team on the little island will be searching for the enemy snipers on that hill. I want the team on the west hill searching the one in the center."

Mheetu frowned. "Okay, but what about our other team?"

"That's where you'll come in." Danny moved the pencil to the southern side of the hills. "You two and the other team are going to try to sneak up behind the enemy snipers in the center and take them out quietly. I want Dasyu still thinking they're in place. Once you've taken care of them and the ones on the hill all sniper teams will look around along the ground in case there are additional snipers."

"And if we don't get to them in time?" Tojo asked.

"Then it'll be up to the other two teams to take them out. Try to focus on taking out the team in the center. Our team on the island barely has the range to hit that area, so I can't count on them taking the enemy snipers out in one sweep."

"What about the team on the western side?" Zainabu asked. "Aren't they closer?"

Danny nodded to her question. "Yeah, but the angle from their position to the enemies is pretty wide. It would be tough for them to locate the enemy, though I'm not saying it's impossible. That's why I want the other two sniper teams focusing on that central position. We'll be communicating through transmitters and earpieces, so you'll hear the conversation taking place. Still try to keep the comms to a minimum. I don't want to hear constant chatter in my ear while I'm talking to Dasyu." Danny saw Mheetu raise his hand.

"How about Tojo keeps them on a separate channel and I'll keep a personal line to you?"

"That is a possibility..." Danny trailed off, pondering the idea. It would make communication less hectic for him and with these two keeping track, he knew he would get straight talk from them. "Alright, we'll implement that into the plans. We just gotta test everything before we leave the facility."

"Sounds like we got a plan here," Tojo said with confidence. "But what about the other side of the lake? Can't they set up snipers there to take you out?"

"No, there's too much distance and not enough elevation. They'd be extremely lucky to get a hit on our island sniper team, let alone me. All they'd do is give up their position and Dasyu would be exposed." Danny looked around. "Anyone else?"

"Uh...what about us?" Chumvi asked, pointing a finger at himself and Haraka. "Better yet, what about Malka and Tupac? Are any of us in on this mission?"

Danny nodded. "Actually, yes. I hadn't forgotten you guys." He pointed to a the northern portion of Mambe Island. "You and Tupac will be providing air support in Blades. If we need you, well call you. Be sure to fill him in on the details when we link up. Got it?"

"I got it," Chumvi replied.

With most of the points covered, Danny dropped the pencil on the map. "Now, I had planned on bringing Malka with me in case Dasyu had any 'up close and personal' surprises for me. However, he contacted me the other day. He told me he can't come because he had...a family issue. I don't want to get into the details, because it's no one else's business. However, it is a serious issue, so I'm going to leave him here to take care of it. Since he's not coming, I'll need a replacement for him." He glanced at Haraka. "Thanks for volunteering, Spots."

"What!?" Haraka was stunned. "Why me? Why is it always me that you pick for the dirty work?"

The Preliator leader looked back at him with a slight smile. "I'm going to need someone who has a sense of humor that will shake me out of the state of boredom that Dasyu is sure to give me, and I know you're the right guy for the job."

"I hate it when my sense of humor does that," the king cheetah said, dryly. "Is there anyway I can be on a sniper team?"

Danny smirked. "Part of being on a sniper team is being camouflaged. You would be a terrible candidate."

"How would I be terrible?"

"You're a cheetah."

"_King _cheetah," Haraka corrected. "And besides, what's that got to do with it?"

"You're always spotted," Danny said.

Haraka frowned. It took him a moment to get the joke, but when he did, he forced a laugh. "Ha ha ha. That was a knee-slapper," he said with dry sarcasm, slapping his knee for good measure.

"Just keeping you out of that state of boredom. But that's the way the plan is gonna go. The rough part is the sniper teams are going to be on-site two days before the meeting, so you'll be camping out for two days. On the day of the meeting, Tojo, Mheetu, and the other team will begin going up the hill four hours prior to the meeting. That should give you enough time to go up the hill and take out the opposing force. Chumvi and Tupac will arrive on-site the morning of. Is that understood?"

"So, this plan seems to have all the stops put out," Mheetu said. "But there's still the big risk that he'll send a herd of snipers to take you out."

Danny nodded. "That is true, but that risk is also why our team is going out ahead of me. On that note, if you find snipers, don't take them out until both myself and Dasyu have landed. That way, it will be too late for him to adjust. I don't want to give that piece of trash any wiggle room. Anything else? No? Alright, you're dismissed. Enjoy your day."

They happily obliged, as they scurried to the boarding ramp and headed back to their respective families. It was then that Danny realized that he was the only one left in the rec room. He frowned, wondering where Zainabu had went. He was sure he didn't see her go outside with them. That left only one area where she would be. Danny headed to the door leading to the cockpit. He pressed the yellow toggle next to it, and the door slid open.

Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, looking outside, was Zainabu. She hadn't turned his way when the door opened nor did she acknowledge him. Danny could tell something was wrong, and had a feeling what was troubling her. He took another few steps toward her, hoping she would turn to look his way. He felt a pang of hurt at this, as this was uncharacteristic of her to do this. "Zainabu?"

He felt some relief when she answered. "Yes?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine. It's a good plan and I'm sure you'll all come home alive." The heat and sarcasm in her tone was plain as day.

Danny raked a hand through his brown hair. "Look, Zee. I know you don't like the way this is gonna go down, but-"

She interrupted him with a laugh. "Oh, now it's convenient for you to talk about _my _opinion on this plan of yours." She spun around and got up from her seat. "You cannot trust Dasyu at his word to not take a shot at killing you, Danny."

"Which is why I've got the others watching my back, sweetheart. I know they'll make good on this." As he said this, even he wasn't totally convinced that his statement would settle the argument. It didn't.

"Just because you have a few teams of snipers covering you, doesn't mean he won't be coming at you with more. There could be more teams than you can handle. Why not send Haraka or Tojo?"

Danny suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "The joker or the pretty boy? Yeah, those are some options to make Dasyu believe I'm on the level for a peaceful settlement."

Zainabu was now fighting the urge to cry. "This is not funny! This is your life on the line here. You don't have a small army ready to defend you, only a few sniper teams."

"I do have some air support if things get dicey," he said.

His wife threw her arms up in the air. "Right! Because two Blades makes _that_ much of a difference. Dasyu could have an entire strike force waiting for you." Zainabu was now reaching a state of complete panic. "You have absolutely no idea what could be waiting there when you land."

Her concerns were valid, as the entire plan could go either way. On one hand, it could end the war with no more lives lost. On the other hand, Danny could be killed and the Preliators would be leaderless. Sometimes, leaders would have to take calculated risks to bring rewards, and this was no exception.

"Which is why I'm sending the teams out ahead to scout for an ambush." Danny held up his hands. "Zee, you've given me every reason not to do this. The fact of the matter is, we could have a chance to win this war in a little over a week. We both knew that we would have to take chances to win this war, and Dasyu will only talk with me because I'm the leader. He won't deal with anyone else. I have to do this, and you know it."

Zainabu sat back down, letting her arms fall limply in her lap. Now, the tears began to flow. Her emotions were blended into a surreal mix of anger, hurt, love, worry, and anxiety. This was the last situation she wanted her husband to be in, but deep down, she knew there was no way around this. She lifted her face to look at him, her green eyes giving him one last imploring plea. "I don't want you to die, Danny. You are the joy of my life, and I can't bear to see your body brought back to me."

Hearing that meant so much to him. He loved Zainabu with all his heart, and wanted to stay here for her. But he had his duty, and it had to be carried out. He never wanted the position and responsibilities of a leader, but it just turned out that way. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up from the chair and into a warm embrace. He slowly felt her arms work their way around his back as he nuzzled her cheek. "When you were killed last year, I couldn't begin to describe the pain I felt in that moment. I felt as though my world had collapsed, like all the happiness in my life was taken from me. Even if I did survive, I would be a shell of my former self." He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Believe me when I say this, Zee. I know exactly the kind of pain you're feeling, only I know what it's like to have that special someone lost."

She managed a weak smile. "Which is why I'm so concerned for you. You mean the world to me, and nothing can replace you if you die out there. It hurts me to see you leave to return to war, and I'm so afraid that one day you won't return to me again." She buried her face into his chest.

At that moment, Danny felt compelled to stay in the Pride Lands and never fight again, but something stopped him. He tried to tell himself that it was duty. He rubbed her back with his hands. "I'm going to return, Zee. You'll see. And to top off the promises, once this war is over, I'm never going to fight again. Hopefully, when that happens, we can focus on having a family."

Zainabu leaned forward and kissed him. When they broke apart, she tapped his nose with her finger. "Good, because I'm holding you to that...especially that last part."

Danny looked over at the door and back to her. "Since we're on the subject, I was thinking-"

"You were _thinking_? Really?"

He expelled a gust of air. "Shocking, isn't it?" He inquired in a deadpan tone. "Anyways, I was just gonna say that there's a vacancy on the bed with our names on it. Care to join me or will this be a solo mission?"

Her eyes sparkled. "I think I'll take you up on that vacancy. Lead on, _General_." She kissed him again as they left the cockpit.

* * *

><p>At first, he wasn't sure where he was. In fact, nothing had changed that caused him to think differently. The trees, the animals, the landscape, it was easily recognizable. Problem was, it wasn't home. He knew what his home was like, and nothing was in a recognizable arrangement for him to pick out a particular location that would come to mind. Yet as foreign as it was, the land was somehow familiar to him, for some reason.<p>

_This is really odd, _Simba thought. His mind raced back into his past, trying to dig up where he had seen this land before. He thought of anything that could trip a synapse and bring the realization to his mind, but he couldn't place it. The only two places he could immediately rule out were the Pride Lands and the oasis that he spent his younger years in. _Why does this place seem so familiar?_

Regardless of his current issue of figuring out where he was, he definitely found the scene refreshing. Everything and everyone was going about their business. Herds were grazing and predators were hunting. All of the grass was lush and beautiful, and all bodies of water flowed strong. It prompted a smile from him, to see a paradise like this. The land held an air of innocence, untainted from anything on the outside that would, otherwise, tarnish that state of being.

Something off to the left caught his eye. It was a ghostly white-blue anomaly. That anomaly was a figure, and though that figure was in his peripheral vision, he could tell it was looking right at Simba. Slowly turning his head, he came face to face with someone he hadn't seen for almost eight years. Simba's eyes widened. "Father?"

His father didn't answer, nor did he smile. However, he did acknowledge Simba's question with a nod of his head. It was eery to see the ghost of Mufasa, especially since he didn't answer verbally. That would've brought some comfort and relief to the Pride Lands king.

Normally, Simba would be joyful at seeing his father again, but he knew something was off. He took a step forward. "What are you doing here? Is there something you need to tell me?"

Even though Mufasa wasn't going to verbally answer him, Simba's attention was diverted elsewhere. For a moment, he felt slight tremors, and then nothing. A moment later, the tremors returned. The only difference from before was that the tremors continued to grow stronger. Pebbles began to bounce off the ground incessantly. Simba couldn't get a fix on where the epicenter was at. He looked at the animals in the lands, and they were just as clueless as he was.

He looked back at the image of his father. The old lion held a sad expression on his face. "Father, what's causing these tremors?"

Mufasa didn't answer, at least, not with words. His eyes looked to his right, behind Simba, before turning his entire head in that direction. Simba turned to looked behind him. What he saw would leave a lasting imprint in his mind. Coming at him was a huge army. He couldn't make out any features, but he could definitely tell they were metallic. The entire ground shook at their approach, and all the animals fled in the opposite direction. They were a blend of air and ground vehicles, and they were heading for Simba.

"Run, Dad!" Simba shouted as he turned tail and ran with everything he had. As he did, explosions could be heard gaining on him, and adrenaline fueled his desire to run. He didn't dare turn back to see if his father was running with him for fear of getting caught up in a blast of fire. Ahead of him, he watched several animals get hit with a blast that sent them flying in all directions. They were all dead before they hit the ground, their corpses now smoking and smelling of burnt flesh. The blasts of the cannons set trees and patches of the grass on fire, creating a scene from hell, rather than the serene image of what the lands used to be only moments before. He felt the heat of a cannon round come extremely close to hitting him and struck the ground about fifty yards ahead of him. _That was too close._

It didn't take Simba long to realize that the army was gaining on him. The airborne vehicles soared overhead and dove down like an eagle about to catch its prey, and rained fire on whatever was unfortunate to cross their path. The droning of the ground-based units grew louder and louder. He hadn't felt this terrified since the stampede that cost his father's life. His lungs started to burn, as he had been sprinting far longer than he was used to. The inevitability that the army would overtake him was scary, but that didn't stop Simba from running. Soon, the vehicles began to run past him. He swerved to the side to avoid getting hit by one of the vehicles. _These must be the tanks Danny told me about._

The red-maned lion knew he needed to find some cover in order to hide and regain his breath. He found it in the shape of a huge boulder up ahead. Jumping over it, Simba backed up and took cover behind it. It was shocking and even a little disappointing that nothing happened to him. The tanks passed by him, paying him no mind and focusing their attention elsewhere.

While that was surprising enough, it was even more shocking to see Mufasa casually walking towards him. The tanks that were in his path went right through him. While Simba knew that his father was a ghost, it got him wondering about everything he was seeing. He stuck his paw out to where the tanks were rolling. A tank rolled by the edge of the boulder where his paw was exposed, and the vehicle went right through it, as though Simba were a ghost himself.

Simba got out from behind the boulder to see the tanks go through and past him. They were destroying everything in their path. No piece of earth was left unturned. Any animals that were hiding were suddenly exposed and torn apart by the gunfire of the army. The horrifying scene shook Simba to his core. Tears started to well up in his eyes as he turned back to Mufasa's ghost. "Father, why is this happening? Why are you showing me this?"

Again, his father didn't answer in words. He only hung his head in sadness. It told Simba a lot in terms of what he was seeing here. His father knew what this was. It was a vision, but what kind of vision?

"Is this a vision of the future?" Simba asked. Mufasa nodded. "What leads up to these events? How does it come down to this..." He waved around. "...death and destruction?"

Mufasa closed his eyes. Suddenly, they were no longer standing in the lands that were under attack. They were back in the Pride Lands. Simba could easily make out the gorge and the fact that he was on the summit of Pride Rock. Even though they were back home, the differences were vast.

The skies were a dark gray, casting a gloomy light on the Pride Lands. The sun was setting, which explained why the light was strongest near the horizon. The vegetation of the lands were non-existent; Simba couldn't find a patch of green anywhere. Most of the trees were laying on their sides and what few trees remained standing were nothing more than a skeletal resemblance of their original, blooming forms. There were also no animals anywhere. No matter how hard he looked, there was no movement anywhere. Bones of the people were littered all around the kingdom. The entire place was a desolate wasteland, devoid of any life of any kind. Black scorch marks and craters decorated the landscape.

All of it looked just like when he returned to the Pride Lands to take the throne back from Scar. _But for some reason, this looks worse, _Simba thought. For a split-second, he thought he was seeing the past. But the fact that there were no lionesses, no hyenas, no Scar, and no Danny, told him that this wasn't the Pride Lands that was. The whole place was completely empty. Simba turned around and trotted over to his father's ghost, who was standing in the center of the summit. "Father, what happened here? Where is everyone?"

Mufasa jerked his head towards something behind Simba. When the king turned, he saw nothing but the headstones Danny had erected to honor the pride members who had fallen in years past. Then, figures began to materialize out of nowhere. Standing there was a hooded being on two feet, most likely Danny. Simba couldn't tell because the man's back was to him, but he was certain it was his brother. Standing next to him were three others. One was a dark brown lion, a king cheetah, and a solid brown lion. Simba could deduct that the dark lion was Chumvi and the king cheetah was Haraka, but he couldn't make out who the other one was. All three of them held their heads low.

Simba watched the hooded figure kneel down next to a stone, a fairly big one. He began writing on the stone, marking some words into it. When he was finished, he grabbed the rifle sitting next to him, and stood up. In uniformed motion, the four began walking past the stone before vanishing into thin air.

Only the swirling of wind provided Simba any noise to this haunting sight. The king thought hard. Why did he only see those four? Where was Tojo, Mheetu, and Malka? Where was the pride? Where was _he_? He turned back to his father. "Father, how does this answer my question? Is there something else about this scene that I need to know?"

Mufasa lifted his paw and pointed directly at the stone.

It was then that Simba felt an awful premonition. That premonition caused him to be afraid. He knew he had to see what words were on that stone, but he didn't want to. Again tears welled up in his eyes and his breathing was labored. He slowly started to make his way forward. With every step, it felt as though his paws were made of stone.

He turned to look back at his father and pointed at him. "These events can be changed." He knew that the conviction in his voice was empty. It was his fear and denial that drove him to say those words. In spite of those feelings, he pressed forward. It felt like forever until he was within five feet of the stone. Again, turned back to look at Mufasa. "It doesn't have to be this way." The only response was Mufasa pointing his paw at the stone again.

Simba moved to where he was a foot away from the big stone. Even though he watched the words being etched into the rock only minutes ago, it was covered in a thick blanket of dust, as if it had been sitting there for generations. He lifted a shaking paw to brush away the dust. When he finished, the words began to glow in a shade of amber light. His eyes widened as he read the words on the stone and his heart felt as if it was being squeezed.

"**Here lies the pride of lions we called our family. We were warned of what was coming, and we failed to protect them. May you rest in peace. You will be avenged."**

These words broke Simba down. "Oh, my God." The tears now began to run down his cheeks as he began to cry out loud. Was this what was to happen to the place he called home? Total annihilation of his pride and his people? He shook his head and quickly got up to face the ghost sitting behind him. "Oh, please Father, no! Tell me this is not our written future." He pointed back at the headstone. "I mean, what's the point of showing me this if there wasn't a chance to prevent it?"

Mufasa's silence was beginning to get under Simba's skin. He wanted to hear an answer from his father to have some comfort in seeing these dark times. He didn't know if his father's silence was a sign that this future was written in stone, so to speak, or if it was a possible future, but unlikely to be deviated from. Simba fell to the ground in front of his father, sobbing. "Father, please...say something to me."

The pain of the vision, the silence of his father, and the utter hopelessness of the situation were too much for him. He was soon overtaken by a world of black.

* * *

><p>Simba woke up with a gasp. Even though it was a cool night, he might as well have been enduring a sweltering beat-down from the sun. He was burning up, feeling a barely resistible urge to jump into a pool of water. While he was slightly relieved that what he had seen was a dream, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was a warning somehow. He looked around to see the rest of the pride still sleeping soundly. He probably wasn't loud enough to wake them up, but considering the vision he just went through, he wouldn't have been surprised if they were all awake from him screaming and asking him what was wrong.<p>

He got up carefully, so as to avoid waking Nala up from her peaceful slumber. His body ached as he sidestepped past all of the pride and avoid waking them up. Simba was getting old and he knew it. _I can only imagine what Mom and the senior lionesses are going through_. He envied Danny in the fact that he was a human. The longer lifespan meant that Danny wouldn't age as fast as Simba did.

The night air was brisk and cool outside of the cave, which greatly helped cool down Simba's body. It was a soothing relief, but it did little to alleviate the pressure weighing down on his mind. The vision he saw made some sense, but it was the "why" that didn't. He looked up at the sky, the stars shining brightly thanks to a lack of clouds. "Father, why was I shown that vision? What must I do in order to prevent that vision from becoming reality?"

"Simba?"

Simba turned around to see Nala approach him from the cave. She yawned as he came up next to him and nuzzled the side of his face. He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Nala. Did I wake you up?"

She blinked away the sleepiness from her eyes. "You did, but I could tell that you were troubled as you left. What's wrong?"

That was a question he didn't really want to answer. He looked away. "Nothing."

"So you wake up in the middle of the night, looking disturbed, and walk outside for nothing? What, is this a new trend you're trying to start?" Nala was clearly not buying it, and didn't appreciate being shut out like this. "What is it? Was it a nightmare?"

"You could say that," he said. "I just don't want to get you worried over it if I do tell."

"I'd rather have that than knowing you're troubled and not knowing what's causing it. That worries me more," she responded.

There was no way out of this and Simba knew it. Nala's stubbornness was well renowned, and he knew dragging this out would only serve to give himself a migraine. _That's the last thing I need right now._ He sighed. "There's not many people I'll share this with, but I would like to wait until morning when Danny wakes up. I want to share this with him too."

"Don't bother waiting. I'm already up."

"Geez!" He jumped at hearing Danny's voice behind him. Turning around, he saw Danny emerge from the shadow of the summit slope. Simba cursed. "You know, I wish you wouldn't do that. Why are you up right now?"

Danny scoffed. "I could ask you the same thing, but I have a good idea now."

"I had a bad night of sleep," Simba said, flatly.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that...unless Nala is close to home on the 'new trend' thing?"

Simba rolled his eyes. "Okay, I had a vision; a bad one, at that. It was what caused me to wake up and come outside for some air. Now, what about you? It's not like you to be up as well at this time of night..." He arched an eyebrow. "...unless _you_ are starting a new trend for night watch."

"Touche," Danny responded, before sighing. "I, too, had a vision in my sleep, one that I've been having off and on since I returned from the war."

"Hmm...that would explain the tired looks I've seen on your face," Simba stated.

"Yeah, I've noticed the same thing myself," Nala added in.

Danny kicked a small rock off the edge of the promontory. "Yeah, it's not the prettiest dream in the world. Then again, I'm sure yours isn't exactly a piece of art, itself." At Simba's nod, Danny decided to go first. "I've been having a dream about here, in the Pride Lands."

This confirmed the gut feeling Simba had. Danny had the same dream he was having. It was a vision of the Pride Lands' destruction. Simba felt the anxiety gnawing at him now. He hated anxiety with a passion. "Go on."

"I'm in a briefing with all of the Preliators. Zee and Nala were there as well. Malka was the only one not present, which coincides with the present fact that he won't be joining me and the others to meet with Dasyu. That's what the briefing is about. Bren, the chief of the ex-Specters we recruited from Dasyu, was supposed to be on his way to attend the briefing with us. Well, he finally showed up..." He trailed off.

Simba leaned forward. "And?"

Brown locked with red as Danny and Simba's eyes met each other. "And he shot me. Then, he suddenly turned into Dasyu." He brought his hand up. "Don't ask me how it happened, it just happened. After that, he started shooting everyone." The memories came flooding back to him, and both his expression and tone turned somber. "Zee, Tojo, Nala, Mheetu, Chumvi, Haraka...they were all dead."

Both the king and queen stood there, clearly surprised. "So this Bren character killed everyone?" Nala asked.

"I don't know who it was, for sure. It could be Bren, it could've been Dasyu. Either way, everyone in there was dead. That's when I heard screams coming from outside. I crawled my way out to see what was going on. What I saw next was a scene from hell. The whole Pride Lands were on fire, scores of animals were either being shot or burnt by Dasyu's forces. Then I saw a group of lionesses charging through them, taking out anyone in their path. Next thing I know, they're surrounded and gunned down. That's when Dasyu came behind me and shot me in the head." He closed his eyes and swore. "I'm getting tired of having dreams of him shooting me in the head."

Nala frowned. "Where's Simba?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't know." He crouched down. "I didn't see him anywhere. Outside of who I just named, I couldn't recognize anyone else."

"Who were the lionesses?" Simba asked, joining in on the questioning.

"I told you, I don't know."

Simba let it go. He was unsure of the the vision, but he believed his brother wouldn't lie to him about this. The issue was too critical to do so. But something about the vision didn't sit right with him. "This...Bren character. Do you trust him?"

"Yeah."

"With your life?"

The man's expression darkened slightly. "Yes, I do. Why? You thinking he could be a traitor?"

Holding a paw up, the king said, "I'm not questioning your judgment in character. I'm only saying it's a possible interpretation of the vision. It could be something deeper, but on the surface, it could be that Bren is a spy trying to bring you down."

Danny pointed a finger at Simba. "If he wanted to bring me down, he's had plenty of opportunities. Most of them being before I could even build up our forces. I don't think he's a spy. I just can't answer how he fits into the vision." He crossed his arms. "Before we go any further, I wanna hear your premonition that got you to wake up."

Simba explained his dream. He told them about seeing Mufasa, and the lands they were in. Danny's eyes widened when Simba went into detail about the army of tanks and air drones that laid waste to the kingdom the lion saw, but explained that it wasn't the Pride Lands. He then explained the part of the vision where Mufasa took him to the Pride Lands and showed him Haraka, Chumvi, and another lion with a cloaked figure by a headstone. He also told the two of them what the headstone had written on it.

Both Nala and Danny were shocked. They weren't sure what to say. Both Simba and Danny had two different visions, yet they had two things in common: both showed destruction and both included the Pride Lands. If this was a vision of the future, it left a good possibility: the Pride Lands would come under attack.

Danny was the first to ask a question. "Who was the cloaked figure?"

"I don't know," Simba said. "But I'm convinced it was you. I can't think of many who fit the description." The last statement had a hint of sarcasm.

"What about the other lion? Could you describe him?"

"He had a fighter's build, brown fur and mane. That's all I can tell you."

The description was minute, but Danny had a good idea who it was. "It sounds like Tupac. He's King Amiri's younger brother and one the Preliators." He sat down on a rock. "Now with that little issue resolved, I am afraid to ask my next question. Why would it just be Tupac, Chumvi, Haraka, and myself? I mean, what exactly happened that would lead to that point in time with only the four of us?"

"You're asking questions I don't have the answer to, just speculation." Simba gave him a glum smile. "I think the better question is, what do these dreams signify?"

"Could it be that these dreams signal the end of the Pride Lands?" It was Nala who asked the question. "They sure sound like it, as much as I don't want to dwell on them."

"No one wants to dwell on them, Nala," Danny said. "But living in denial and being ignorant of them will only make us blind and, hence, put us at risk. I think the better question is, are the dreams a vision of the future or a possible future that can be altered by certain events?"

Simba and Nala exchanged glances. "That's an interesting view of the visions," Simba replied. "One that I've been pondering myself. I'm really hoping for the second option, but that's mostly from denial of the first half of that question. I don't like the idea that it's our definite future."

"I hear that." Nala and Danny both looked at each other as they both said that at the same time. Nala continued. "So basically, you two have visions that could or could not be the future. But Danny has asked the biggest question: what leads up to these visions?"

Feeling a headache coming on, Danny placed a hand over his eyes. "That's the million dollar question here, and I really want to know the answer to it."

"Are they in any relation to the visions you had in the past, Danny?" she asked.

Danny's face went slack, an indication that he was thinking hard. At this point, the headache was hitting him hard. He didn't like bringing up haunting memories, but he had no choice with that question. After a few moments, he nodded. "In terms of allegory, yes. These dreams are definitely different from my previous ones, but I think they do symbolize future events. In this case, the loss or possible loss of the Pride Lands. The trick to the visions I've had is that parts of the dream are symbolic, other parts are literal. Other than this speculation, there's nothing else that we know for sure."

They were all silent for a time. These visions were a lot to digest, and yet, there were a lot of unknown factors to them. None of them knew what would happen that would bring them to these points in their visions. All they had were opinions. The only facts were an army that would attack and the Pride Lands would turn into a wasteland, one that would rival the lands during Scar's reign.

Nala finally broke the silence. "I'd hate to have dreams like this."

"Imagine how we feel," Simba responded tersely.

Danny agreed. "Tell me about it. I can't even have sex with my wife and not-"

"Oh, my _God_!" The king cried out, disturbed by that thought. "I don't want to hear that. You don't see me telling you about Nala and I."

"That's right, because you don't have to," Danny quipped, cracking up.

"Screw you!" Simba shot back, realizing he set himself up for that joke.

Nala also found it funny and fought to keep from laughing, though she couldn't hide a smile from her face. She had to look down to keep her mate from seeing it. She'd never hear the end of it from Simba if he caught her. She had to admit that it was awkward to hear the man she considered her big brother joke about an intimate part of her life, but she was at least relieved that they were able to change the subject and relieve some tension over the main topic of their conversation. Once she was sure she could keep a straight face, the blue-eyed lioness looked up. "As much as I'd like to keep talking, I think we need to get some sleep while we still can."

"Agreed." Simba sounded exasperated. "But I don't think we should bring anyone else on this discussion."

"With the exception of Mom and Zee, I agree with you," Danny said. "They would be the only other two who I'd talk to about this. The only reason I'm not right now is because they're both asleep. But I think they can be told and have no risk of spreading this to the rest of the pride."

After pondering it, Simba nodded. "Alright, they can be told, but no one else. Not until we know more about these visions." With nods from both of them, he smiled. "Let's get back to sleep."

As they headed back to their respective resting places, the three of them had a lot on their mind. These visions were haunting, and it left them with more questions than answers. Unfortunately, the answers were not going to come at once. They all hoped that some more rest would help refresh their minds to figure things out in the morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope it was to your liking. I apologize for the delay, but I hope making the chapter a little longer makes up for it.<strong>


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